KILAUEA, Hawaii – The West family moved to Hawaii near the Kilauea volcano almost 30 years ago. They used to live in Tornado Alley and considered moving to Florida once.
They thought Hawaii was safest. They bought 14 acres and built a home where lava had not flowed in centuries.
Over the weekend, the West family, which lived in Brazoria County in the 1970s, joined more than 100 others on the Big Island who are now homeless. And it was almost much worse.
“So Jim calls and says ‘How am I going to get out of here?’” said his wife, Jo West.
Lava “was rushing across the road,” Jim said. “It was moving so fast, I’ve never seen it that fast before.”
Lava from fissure 22 unexpectedly cut off Jim’s escape route. He had no choice but to attempt to outrun the lava in his pickup.
“I could see it over my shoulder, right there coming down,” Jim said, describing driving down a hill at 25 miles per hour. “It was moving faster, than, I mean it was like a river! It was totally just like a river.”
“When I saw him, I told him I’ve never loved a man that I’ve loved as much as you in the last half hour,” Jo said with a laugh. “But that’s over! You ever do that again I’ll kill you.”
“It’s pretty final, you know, as far as your possessions and everything,” Jim said. “But we got out with our lives. You have to start over.”
They are staying at a friend’s house for now. Here is a GoFundMe site the West children have set up to help their parents rebuild their lives.