Lava has stopped flowing toward homes at Kalapana Gardens Subdivision.
But Big Island Civil Defense officials say residents need to remain vigilant and be ready to evacuate.
For now anyway, lava from Kilauea Volcano is flowing into the ocean, rather than heading east where 35 homes remain standing. Hawaii County Civil Defense says it's a wait-and-see situation for the 70 people living in those homes.
"They do need to be prepared to eventually evacuate if the flow starts moving in the easterly direction again. It's just the nature of the risks of living in that particular area," said Quince Mento with Big Island Civil Defense.
Bo Lozoff built his house here last year. He says the possibility of evacuating is just another chapter in the many destructive forces of nature that he's experienced.
"I feel everybody has their risks. I've lost a couple of buildings in North Carolina to tornadoes. I grew up in South Florida and went through seven hurricanes," said Kalapana resident Bo Lozoff.
Lozoff says he's probably in a better spot than other residents in the subdivision because his house is more uphill. But he's aware of the risks, and couldn't resist the novelty of living here when he saw the property.
"I saw these couple of houses popping up on the lava and I thought, that's the coolest thing I've ever seen and within a few months, I owned this lot and started to build my house," said Lozoff.
Lava showed its destructive force last Sunday, burning down the house owned by Gary Sleik. All he could do was watch as the home he lived in for five years came tumbling down. Emergency officials say they've been closely monitoring the flow in the last couple of weeks once it started heading toward the subdivision. Officials along with the residents will have to remain vigilant to stay out of danger.
"It's unfortunate that they have to live like that but unfortunately that's also one of the realities of being there," said Mento.
