The current flow comes within 600 feet (183 meters) of the new viewing area, where people can watch the lava roll toward the ocean as it creates thick steam and new land.

It is difficult to forecast where the lava will go next or when the next major explosion will come, said Dave Wilson, a seismologist at Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. Significant activity would probably be preceded by hundreds of small earthquakesa.

“At that point, you can say, `Hey, we need to get everyone out of here because this looks like something bad is going to happen,”’ Wilson said.

When that time comes, resident Gary Smith will be ready to forsake his two-story house.

“It’s no big deal. You make peace with that when you build here,” said Smith, who moved in three years ago. “It’s amazing. People can live here and be responsible for themselves and have the government stay out of their lives.”

Besides lava reflections that paint the sky orange and easy access to the ocean, there is another reason people choose to live near the volcano: the price of land.

Property atop lava rock that could be overrun again at any time does not sell for much, and no developer is going to spend much on infrastructure for a neighborhood that has disappeared before and will probably do so again.

Olson said she paid US$3,000 (euro1,927) for about six acres (2.4 hectares) in 2000, and Smith put down US$95,000 (euro61,019) for 21 acres (8.5 hectares) in 2005. Both neighbors work in construction and built their houses themselves.

“It could come again and wipe this whole community out. Nobody knows,” said Michael Silva, co-owner of Kalapana Village Cafe, whose business has increased by a third since the new viewing platform opened. “There’s nobody out there that doesn’t know what they’re buying. Some people, that’s the reason they come here, for the thrill of the chance.”

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