In pictures: lava flow nears Hawaii power plant

Officials say cracks near the Puna Geothermal Company are active and producing lava that slowly flows into the property near Kilauea volcano – one of the most active volcanoes in the world.

White plumes of acid and extremely fine shards of glass billowed into the sky over Hawaii as molten rock from Kilauea volcano continue to pour into the ocean.
AP

White plumes of acid and extremely fine shards of glass billowed into the sky over Hawaii as molten rock from Kilauea volcano continue to pour into the ocean.

A slow-moving lava flow is starting to close in on a power plant near Kilauea volcano, which has authorities scrambling to keep it from becoming part of the drama.

Officials said there was no "immediate threat" to the Puna Geothermal Company (PGV) a 38-megawatt plant run by the state of Hawaii.

Still, "cracks near the Puna Geothermal Company are active and producing lava that slowly flows into the property, which destroyed the old Hawaii Geothermal Project in an area adjacent to the PGV," officials said. 

Kilauea is one of the most active volcanoes in the world and one of five on the Big Island of Hawaii.

It erupted on May 3, forcing the evacuation of 2,000 people from their homes located on the mountain.

AP

A a geothermal plant is seen from the Leilani Estates subdivision near Pahoa, Hawaii. Authorities were racing to close off production wells at the plant threatened by a lava flow from Kilauea volcano on Hawaii's Big Island.

AP

Fissures continue to spew lava in the Leilani Estates subdivision near Pahoa, Hawaii.

AP

White plumes of acid and extremely fine shards of glass billowed into the sky over Hawaii as molten rock from Kilauea volcano poured into the ocean, creating yet another hazard from an eruption that began more than two weeks ago.

AP

The eruption of Kilauea volcano in Hawaii sparked new safety warnings about toxic gas on the Big Island's southern coastline after lava began flowing into the ocean and setting off a chemical reaction.

AP

Lava from Hawaii's Kilauea volcano is pouring into the sea and setting off a chemical reaction that creates giant clouds of acid and fine glass.

AP

Toxic gases rise near an abandoned home in the Leilani Estates subdivision near Pahoa, Hawaii.

AP

US Air National Guardsman Orlando Corpuz carries a gas mask as he walks over cracks on the road in the Leilani Estates subdivision near Pahoa, Hawaii.

Route 6