HILO, Hawai'i — A sluggish black 'a'a lava flow from the Kilauea volcano advanced to about a quarter-mile of the mostly vacant Royal Gardens subdivision in Lower Puna yesterday.

Big Island Civil Defense officials warned the lava poses a threat to the upper portion of the subdivision, which has largely been abandoned due to repeated flows over the past 25 years.

Officials warned any remaining residents to be aware of fire and smoke hazards as the flow approaches the subdivision. Access to the area was restricted to residents only, officials said.

The upper portion of the subdivision appeared abandoned from the air yesterday, with only two structures still standing.

There are about 10 structures left in the entire subdivision, but most are unoccupied and have deteriorated over the years. There are only a handful of part- or full-time residents left, including one who runs a bed-and-breakfast operation near the western edge of the subdivision.

The flow yesterday afternoon was snaking downslope in a red-hot, rapidly moving stream released from an underground tube system that surfaces southeast of Pu'u 'O'o. The flow slows and loses most of its glow as it moves away from the tube and begins to cool.

Yesterday afternoon the lava was slowly advancing at about the 1,700-foot level. It was still about a mile from the closest structures but was chugging through thin stands of trees and setting them on fire, sometimes burning dried logs strewn on top of the blacked old flows.

Lava has often flowed into the area during Kilauea's ongoing 25-year eruption. Lava cut the highway that provided access to the subdivision.

63 HOMES DESTROYED

The Royal Gardens subdivision originally had 1,827 lots, but much of that property has already been covered. The volcano has destroyed an estimated 63 homes in Royal Gardens since 1983.

Coco Pierson moved out of his house in Royal Gardens in late 1989 — he was one of the last to leave the subdivision — and said he still hopes to return there someday.

"I never abandoned it. I don't think in those kind of terms, but I moved on," Pierson said. "My heart still remains in Royal Gardens, and foolish as it may sound, I hope someday the volcano stops or moves elsewhere, and folks are re-established, and I can sip lemonade on my porch and watch the ocean and the birds.

"I would be exceedingly displeased if lava should come and take my house and bathhouse and cover the remaining part of my property. I would be very unhappy, but I don't fret a lot about it because I have absolutely no control."

In all, lava from the current eruption has destroyed 190 structures in the Kalapana and surrounding area.

For the latest updates on the volcano, visit http://volcano.wr.usgs.gov/hvostatus.php.

Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com.