When mother nature spilled her fiery guts, Kapoho Bay became Kaput Bay

A slow-moving flood of lava destroyed hundreds of homes in the southeast area of Big Island, turning what had been a scenic bay dotted with beach homes, lush greens and turquoise waters, into a dark slab of steam and lava.

By Tuesday morning, the lava had completely filled Kapoho Bay -- shocking residents and frequent visitors who realized that their beloved bay was gone. It was where vacationers enjoyed tide pools, snorkeling and picnics, reported CNN affiliate Hawaii News Now.

As of the morning of June 5, the fissure 8 lava flow front had completely filled Kapoho Bay.

"It's incredibly saddening," Jason Hills, who makes a yearly visit, told the station. "Kapoho Bay was just a little calm water gem where people could play, swim, hang out in the tide pools. It was green and beautiful, great trade winds, and now it's just a big hunk of lava rock."

A satellite image from 2016 shows Kapoho Bay on the island of Hawaii before the Kilauea volcano erupted, and an image taken on June 4, 2018 with lava spilling into the bay.

So far, it was unclear how many homes have been affected, but Hawaii Civil Defense Administrator Talmadge Magno said it was fair to say it was hundreds. The lava pushed into beach lots in Kapoho, which has about 350 homes and Vacationland, which has about 150. This doesn't mean all homes were affected, but authorities will have to count and match the areas with property maps.

About 80% of the homes are believed to be vacation homes, Magno told reporters Tuesday.

Lava from one of the fissures entered Kapoho Bay late Sunday or early Monday, forcing billowing clouds of steam into the atmosphere as hot lava hit the cool water of the Pacific Ocean. Fissure 8 was very active overnight into Tuesday, producing large amounts of lava that destroyed homes. The lava flow extended 0.8 miles from the shore. 

"It's a slow-moving flood. Nothing stops it and the direction it goes," Magno said of the lava flow. "It continues its march to the ocean." 

Helicopter overflight on June 4, showed lava from fissure 8 entering the ocean at Kapoho Bay.

At least 12,000 earthquakes on Hawaii's Big Island in the last 30 days

Hawaii County Civil Defense authorities also warned about laze, a nasty mashup of lava and haze that sends hydrochloric acid and volcanic glass particles into the air. The large laze plume was blowing inland along the coastline and the agency warned residents to avoid the area. 

At least 117 homes have been destroyed since lava began flowing, Magno said, but this doesn't include those affected in Kapoho and Vacationland. 

=====================




Entire Hawaii neighborhood vanishes as lava gushes in




This satellite image provided by Digital Globe captured June 5, 2018, shows lava flows on most of Kapoho Bay in Hawaii. Lava from the Kilauea volcano destroyed hundreds of homes in a mostly rural area on the Big Island of Hawaii overnight. It's the largest number of destroyed homes since the eruption began last month. (Satellite Image ©2018 DigitalGlobe, a Maxar company via AP)
Associated Press



This image taken from video on Monday, June 4, 2018, and provided by the U.S. Geological Survey shows lava from a fissure flowing into the ocean at Kapoho Bay at Kapoho on the island of Hawaii. After overrunning the town overnight and destroying hundreds of homes, the lava flowed into the shallow bay and had nearly filled it. (U.S. Geological Survey via AP)
Associated Press



This image taken from video on Monday, June 4, 2018 and provided by the U.S. Geological Survey shows lava from a fissure flowing into the ocean at Kapoho Bay at the town of Kapoho on the island of Hawaii. See the structure at lower left for scale. The flow front was about a half-mile wide, with lava building a delta a few hundred yards into the bay. Hundreds of homes were destroyed overnight. (U.S. Geological Survey via AP)
Associated Press



This photo provided by the U.S. Geological Survey shows an early-morning view of Halema'uma'u Crater and the KÄ«lauea Caldera from the KÄ«lauea overlook at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the island of Hawaii, Tuesday, June 5, 2018. Heavy steam dominates the view, and strong winds are blowing the plume to the southwest. (U.S. Geological Survey via AP)
Associated Press



This satellite image provided by Digital Globe captured June 5, 2018, shows Kilauea summit crater in Hawaii. Lava from the Kilauea volcano destroyed hundreds of homes in a mostly rural area on the Big Island of Hawaii overnight. It's the largest number of destroyed homes since the eruption began last month. A spokeswoman for Hawaii County says an exact count of destroyed homes has yet to be determined. (Satellite Image ©2018 DigitalGlobe, a Maxar company via AP)
Associated Press



This satellite image provided by Digital Globe captured June 3, 2018, shows advancing lava flows as they approach Kapoho Bay in Hawaii. Lava from the Kilauea volcano destroyed hundreds of homes in a mostly rural area on the Big Island of Hawaii overnight. It's the largest number of destroyed homes since the eruption began last month. A spokeswoman for Hawaii County says an exact count of destroyed homes has yet to be determined. (Satellite Image ©2018 DigitalGlobe, a Maxar company via AP)
Associated Press



This satellite image provided by Digital Globe captured June 5, 2018, shows lava flows on most of Kapoho Bay in Hawaii. Lava from the Kilauea volcano destroyed hundreds of homes in a mostly rural area on the Big Island of Hawaii overnight. It's the largest number of destroyed homes since the eruption began last month. (Satellite Image ©2018 DigitalGlobe, a Maxar company via AP)
Associated Press



This image taken from video on Monday, June 4, 2018, and provided by the U.S. Geological Survey shows lava from a fissure flowing into the ocean at Kapoho Bay at Kapoho on the island of Hawaii. After overrunning the town overnight and destroying hundreds of homes, the lava flowed into the shallow bay and had nearly filled it. (U.S. Geological Survey via AP)
Associated Press


By CALEB JONES 


HONOLULU -- A neighborhood called Vacationland on Hawaii's Big Island had disappeared by Wednesday as lava poured into two oceanfront subdivisions, smothering hundreds of homes and filling an ocean bay, turning it into new land that now juts into the sea.

Molten rock entirely covered Vacationland and only a few buildings remained in the nearby Kapoho subdivision, officials with the U.S. Geological Survey said.

"The bay is completely filled in and the shoreline is at least 0.8 miles out from its original location," said Geological Survey geologist Wendy Stovall. "Vacationland is gone, there is no evidence of any properties there at all. On the northern end of that, there are just a few homes in the (Kapoho) beach lots area."

Resident Mark Johnson is hopeful that his home on a citrus farm is one of those still standing. His ocean-view property sits on a ridge near the base of Kapoho crater, and he thinks the lava could have missed it.

"Basically we are up on that hill, so we're still OK right now," Johnson said.

But he has resigned himself to the possibility that he could lose his beloved farm, which he can't access even if lava doesn't cover it. The property isn't far from a crater lake that the approaching flow vaporized days before entering his neighborhood.

"I'm kind of at peace, actually," Johnson said of potentially losing his home of 28 years. "I feel that I've had a really great experience."

County officials said the two subdivisions have 279 homes, and most are feared destroyed from the most recent lava flows in the low-laying area.

"Over the course of essentially two days, that entire area was covered by lava," Stovall said.

Molten rock from the erupting Kilauea volcano already has destroyed at least 117 homes in the Lanipuna Gardens and Leilani Estates neighborhoods where lava surfaced more than a month ago. The total number of homes destroyed in the eruption stands at about 400.

Scientists are still recording vigorous volcanic activity. While only one crack in the ground is spewing molten rock and the height of fountaining lava has decreased in recent days, "it's still really impossible to tell," when it will end, Stovall said.

The lava inundation is among the most destructive and costly in volcano property loss in U.S. history. While no one has been killed and only one lava-related injury has been reported, the number of destroyed homes dwarfs other recent American eruptions.

It comes as a volcano erupted in Guatemala on Sunday and left 99 dead and nearly 200 missing.

In Hawaii, previous eruptions have destroyed small towns, but nothing on the scale of this outbreak. Lava flows destroyed homes and other buildings in the same area in 1955 and 1960, but the town of Kapoho was less densely populated at that time.

Between 1983 and 2014, a Kilauea eruption razed homes in and around the town of Kalapana. Over the course of about eight months in 1990, 214 homes were destroyed in that area. One home was lost in a separate 2014 lava flow in the commercial hub of Pahoa.

Even major explosive eruptions like that of Washington state's Mount St. Helens in 1980 didn't result in the same number of homes lost. That volcano and others in the region that have had recent eruptions are very remote with few people living nearby.

At Kilauea's summit, increased earthquake activity has led to explosive eruptions, some of which have shot rock and ash high into the air.

"We expect larger explosions will continue at the summit," Stovall said Wednesday.

Jessica Ferracane, spokeswoman for Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, was on the summit Wednesday and said three "sizable" earthquakes hit in the two hours she was there.

"It's a beautiful blue day, but it really seems eerie up there, lots and lots of ash covering areas near Jagger Museum and the earthquakes really make things seem very unsettled," she said.

Tree care worker Jason Covert-Kohler with Out on a Limb Tree Care Inc., of Dover, PA died from blunt force head and neck trauma after a tree fell on him in northern York County, PA

Tree company employee dies after tree falls on him
Updated Jun 5; Posted Jun 5


By The Associated Press


WARRINGTON, Pa. (AP) -- Authorities say a worker with a tree care company was killed when a tree fell on him at a Pennsylvania home.

The York County Coroner's Office says Jason Covert-Kohler was working with other company employees when the accident occurred around 2:30 p.m. Monday in Warrington. The 35-year-old Dover man was taken to a hospital but died there a short time later.

Authorities say Covert-Kohler died from blunt force head and neck trauma. His death has been ruled an accident.

No other injuries were reported in the accident. But authorities say it's not yet known what caused it.

According to the York Daily Record, the man worked for Out on a Limb Tree Care Inc. of Dover, and the incident has been reported to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.


=====================



Dover man dies after tree falls on him, York County coroner says
Ted Czech, tczech@ydr.com 
June 5, 2018


Here are the latest top headlines from York County, Pennsylvania and the region. York Daily Record

Jason Covert-Kohler, 35, of the first block of North Main Street, Dover, died at York Hospital, according to York County Coroner Pam Gay.


A man employed by a tree care company died at York Hospital on Monday after a tree fell on him in northern York County, according to York County Coroner Pam Gay.

Despite efforts to save his life, Jason Covert-Kohler, 35, of the first block of North Main Street, Dover, died at the hospital at 3:42 p.m. the same day, Gay said.

Covert-Kohler, along with other employees of Out on a Limb Tree Care Inc., of Dover, was working in the 1000 block of Twin Lakes Road, Warrington Township, when a tree fell on him about 2:30 p.m., Gay said.

An ambulance crew arrived and transported an unresponsive Covert-Kohler to the hospital.

Gay said Covert-Kohler's cause of death was blunt force head and neck trauma and his manner of death was accidental. There will be no autopsy, she said.

The incident was reported to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Gay said.

59-year-old demolition worker Harvey Lee Figgs with Gama Wrecking Co., died after the floor collapsed in a row home in the Brewerytown section of Philadelphia, PA

59-year-old demolition worker Harvey Lee Figgs with Gama Wrecking  Co., died after the floor collapsed in a row home in the Brewerytown section of Philadelphia, PA

1 Demolition Worker Killed In Brewerytown Building Collapse
June 4, 2018 at 11:41 pm


PHILADELPHIA, PA (CBS) — A demolition worker was killed following a building collapse of a row home in the Brewerytown section of Philadelphia on Monday morning.


The fire department was called out to the 2600 block of Jefferson Street for a building collapse around 10:50 a.m. for reports of two people trapped. Demolition crews from Gama Wrecking were working on the building when it came down.



The Philadelphia Fire Department responds to a building collapse in the Brewerytown section of the city. (credit: CBS3)

Police say two contractors were working on the building when the rear of the property collapsed, trapping them. One person was able to escape while the other, a 60-year-old man, was trapped under the rubble. He was pronounced dead shortly after 11 a.m.

The family identified the victim as 59-year-old Harvey Lee Figgs. His family had just celebrated his birthday on Sunday.


Video from Chopper 3 showed firefighters pulling one person from the rubble.

Jomo Day saw the row home fall and rushed to help a man trapped under the debris. 
“I ran over to try to help him there but it was too late,” said Day.

Figgs was in the back of the building, taking it apart brick-by-brick. Crews say that’s procedure when dealing with a row home like this that’s attached to other homes, but the floor beneath Figgs suddenly fell and the building collapsed on top of him.

“Real good guy, real good guy, give you the shirt off his back,” said Wayne Johnson. “It’s crazy, you’re here today, gone tomorrow.”

Authorities say a second crew member was inside at the home but able to escape and did not need any medical treatment. Investigators are now working to determine what lead up to the collapse.

“Buildings are complex structures, so it’s going to take some time to find exactly what the cause was,” said Philadelphia Fire Department Commissioner Adam Thiel.

Licenses and Inspections says the contractor did have a permit to demolish the structure, but some people are questioning how another deadly building collapse could happen, especially when Tuesday is five years since six people lost their lives in the Salvation Army building collapse on Market Street.

One of the demolition workers obtained an attorney who says it’s difficult to know what went wrong until investigators release more information, but he believes Figg’s death was likely preventable.

“I’m literally sickened to my stomach to see another collapse here in the city. It’s unbelievable to me,” said attorney Steve Wrigrizer. “This kind of thing could only happen if there is a flaw in the engineering survey that has to take place or a failure to execute the demolition plan properly.” 
The building is still deemed unstable.

Fire department officials are investigating.



================================== Worker dies in building collapse in Brewerytown
Incident comes nearly five years to the day after tragedy at Salvation Army thrift store

By PhillyVoice staff



This home under demolition in the 1500 block of North Bailey Street partially collapsed Monday morning, Philadelphia fire officials reported. One worker died in the accident.


A worker was trapped and killed Monday when a two-story home under demolition in the Brewerytown section of Philadelphia partially collapsed.

The man was one of two workers at the building in the 1500 block of North Bailey Street around 11 a.m. when the rear of the structure collapsed, fire officials told the Associated Press.

One of the workers was able to escape the debris, but a 60-year-old man became trapped and was pronounced dead shortly after the collapse. He was not immediately identified.


In a Twitter post, the fire department said "our thoughts and prayers are with the community."

Fire commissioner Adam Thiel said the building remains unstable. The city's L&I Department is investigating the cause of the collapse.

Nearly five years ago to the day, on the morning of June 5, 2013, a building undergoing demolition collapsed onto the neighboring Salvation Army thrift store at 22nd and Market streets in Center City. Six people died and fourteen others were injured.

On Tuesday, from 11 a.m. to noon, the June 5th Memorial Park will be dedicated to the memory of those who lost their lives in the accident.



=======================


House Collapse Kills One Monday Morning In Philadelphia
Breaking: One construction worker died after the Brewerytown home collapsed during demolition work Monday morning.
By Max Bennett, Patch Staff | Jun 4, 2018



PHILADELPHIA – A construction worker reportedly died after a two-story rowhome collapsed during demolition work in Philadelphia's Brewerytown neighborhood Monday morning, according to officials.

The collapse happened on the 1500 block of Bailey Street at 10:50 a.m. Monday, June 4, the Philadelphia Fire Department said.

Fire officials said crews were called to the area and found one of the workers had pulled himself from the rubble, but one remained trapped.

The worker who pulled himself from the rubble did not need medical treatment, according to fire officials.

Crews pulled the trapped worker from the debris after about 15 minutes of many responders working to dig him out, but officials said the 60-year-old man died from injuries in the collapse.

The workers are from Philadelphia's Gamma Wrecking demolition company, CBS reports.

Action News reports the workers were in the back of the home when it collapsed.


Fire officials said there is no indication yet as to what caused the collapse.

Two Gamma workers were hurt on a demolition job in the Strawberry Mansion section back in 2014, according to NBC10.


Patch has reached out to the Philadelphia Fire and Licenses and Inspections departments, as well as Gamma Wrecking for more information and will update the story when details are made available.

==========================


Contractor killed after partial building collapse traps 2 in North Philly


NORTH PHILADELPHIA, PA (AP/WTXF) - 

A two-story home being demolished in Brewerytown partially collapsed Monday, killing one of two contractors just one day shy of the fifth anniversary of another building collapse in the city that killed six people.

Two men were working on the Bailey Street building shortly before 11 a.m. when the rear of the property collapsed, trapping them, police said. One worker was able to escape, but the other, a 59-year-old, remained trapped under the rubble and was pronounced dead shortly after 11 a.m.


Family members have identified the victim as Harvey Figgs, who just celebrated his birthday with family Sunday night.

Fire commissioner Adam Thiel called it "a very difficult afternoon here, for our responders as well as everybody who's affected by this incident." He said the building "is still very unstable, which is why we're not inside of it anymore."

The city Department of Licenses and Inspections was at the scene, along with the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, to investigate the cause of the collapse. L&I says the demolition was permitted and the contractor was licensed.

City property records listed the home as "structurally compromised," and the demolition permit said the masonry building was to be completely demolished "by hand-method only" to "resolve a dangerous case."

Most demolitions in Philadelphia are carried out by hand, said Licenses and Inspections Department spokeswoman Karen Guss. She said cranes and backhoes are prohibited, although hand tools may be used.

The department visited the site of the demolition several times and "had no reason to believe that building was being demolished by prohibited means," Guss said. Philadelphia, she said, has "probably the most stringent demolition safety laws in the nation."

The collapse happened one day before the fifth anniversary of the collapse of another building in the city that left six people dead and 13 injured. A towering brick wall left unbraced during a demolition project fell and crushed an adjacent Salvation Army thrift store on June 5, 2013

THIS IS HOMICIDE: 20-year-old construction worker Kyle Hancock buried alive after unshored trench collapse in Clifton Park, MD

20-year-old construction worker Kyle Hancock burried alive after unshored trench collapse in Clifton Park, MD

Construction Worker Recovered From Baltimore Trench Identified
June 6, 2018


BALTIMORE, MD (WJZ)– After an hours-long effort, first responders recover a construction worker who was trapped in a trench in Clifton Park.

Officials were at the park located near Sinclair Lane and Chester Street in northeast Baltimore, where they finally recovered 20-year-old Kyle Hancock just after 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, after nearly 12 hours of rescue efforts.


The construction company that was onsite was R.F. Warder Inc.

Construction crews were working from Tuesday afternoon to recover the body. Hancock was buried alive when dirt collapsed on top of him as he was working.


“It appears that the hole the worker was inside, it was not properly shored up,” said Baltimore Fire Spokesperson Blair Skinner.

If someone is working four feet or deeper it is required that temporary walls are built or a metal box is put down to protect anybody working that deep. The hole in question was 14 feet deep.

The cause of the collapse is under investigation.

However, the scenes from the site show that the trench was unshored.  What makes this reckless violation even more reckless is the fact that there is water at the bottom of the trench.  The presence of the water makes the slopes and the ground even more unstable and subject to movement.

The company that allowed this to happen need to go out of business and jailed for life.

===========================

BALTIMORE, MD (ABC7) — A 19-year-old construction worker is dead after he was buried over 15 feet underground Tuesday and crews spent over seven hours trying to dig him out.

The Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service was one of multiple agencies who aided the Baltimore City Fire Department after the man became trapped at a site in the area of North Chester Street and Sinclair Lane Tuesday afternoon.



Fire officials say the man's body was found around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday and pulled from the debris around 3:45 a.m.

The fire department has not said specifically how the man became trapped.



==============================



Crews Continue Hours-long Recovery Of Construction Worker Trapped In Baltimore Trench
By Kimberly Eiten

June 5, 2018


BALTIMORE, MD (WJZ)– First responders recover a construction worker who is trapped in a trench in Clifton Park.

Officials are at the park located near Sinclair Lane and Chester Street in Northeast Baltimore, where they were attempting for hours to recover a 20-year-old man Tuesday afternoon into the night.

“It appears that the hole the worker was inside, it was not properly shored up,” said Baltimore Fire Spokesperson Blair Skinner.

Neighbors watched as the construction crew began working Tuesday morning.

“We was out here when these guys first start working. Then I was coming back across town from another project, and I saw all the confusion going on,” said Goether Roberts, who works nearby.

“I’ve never seen anything happen like this. Never. In all of my days,” neighbor Wanda Marshall said.



The Montgomery County Fire Department tweeted that structural engineers are assisting in the recovery.

52-year-old drill rig operator Melvin Self working for Case Foundations, died after he was trapped beneath his rig that fell into a foundation hole at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix, Arizona

PHOENIX, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) -

Family and friends of a construction worker killed in an accident at Sky Harbor Airport are remembering him as "a hell of a good man."

Melvin "Wayne" Self, 52, was killed when a drilling rig toppled over Monday. Self was trapped beneath the collapsed rig.

It took several days for rescue crews to finally locate and recover Self's body Thursday afternoon.

The four-day wait was painful for his family.

Greg Self, Wayne's younger brother, doesn't want Wayne remembered as the "missing construction worker."

"He wasn't just a nobody," he said in a phone interview.

"He liked to hunt and fish. We’d go out to the wilderness out all the time," he continued. "Just an outgoing person all the time. Every weekend we go out buggying. He was just full of life."

"There's nothing I think my brother couldn’t do. He’s a fabricator, a welder, he taught me a lot…he’s an awesome guy," said Greg.

Greg Self also said he wanted to thank everyone for the support for the family his week.

"I want to thank everyone out there, all over the country, who supported my brother and the firefighters," said Greg.

Greg said his brother lived in Chino Valley and leaves behind five children, grandchildren, and a fiancée.

To make matters even more difficult, Greg is also coping with the death of his father, who died last month.

Jay Darrow is Self's best friend. The two had worked together for years and he described him as a good man.

"We miss him," said Darrow.

"Wayne never put himself in a predicament like that," continued Darrow. "If it wasn’t right, he wouldn’t have put himself in that spot."

According to the information on the GoFundMe account, Self's last action was an act of bravery as he yelled for coworkers to get away when the hole began to give way around his drill rig.


The accident happened while construction crews were working on the Sky Train guideway system at Sky Harbor International Airport. They were digging the holes for the concrete columns that will support the track connecting Terminal 3 with the rental car area.

According to the information on the GoFundMe account, Self's last action was a selfless act of bravery as he yelled for co-wokers to get away when the hole began to give collapse around his drill rig.

"It was just a freak accident, basically what happened," said Darrow.

A Go Fund Me account has been set up to help Self's family.

[The Wayne Self GoFundMe account]




============================

Police have identified the construction worker killed in a drill-rig collapse at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport as 52-year-old Melvin Self.

Phoenix police made the announcement one day after crews located and recovered his body.

Self was believed to be the operator of the drill who fell into a hole that was then blocked by heavy machinery, making a rescue mission much harder, according to the Phoenix Fire Department.

Rescue crews started the rescue mission on Monday, but that turned into a recovery mission by Tuesday, as officials cited the length of time Self would have been in the hole he excavated on Monday morning.

The drill tipped over as he was moving heavy equipment, per officials.

Recovery crews found Self's body on Thursday evening, and he was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Phoenix Fire Department Capt. Rob McDade.

Hensel Phelps, the company overseeing construction on the PHX Sky Train, issued a statement Friday morning to The Arizona Republic.

"All of us at Hensel Phelps and on the project team at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport are deeply saddened by the death of a team member who worked as a drill rig operator for Case Foundations, a subcontractor to Hensel Phelps at the airport.

"Hensel Phelps places the highest value on safety and this incident will be thoroughly investigated to understand exactly what happened," it said.

McDade said the Maricopa County Medical Examiner's Office and the Phoenix Police Department would be in charge of the investigation moving forward.