Belief in Goddess Fails to Spare Store
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KALAPANA, Hawaii — Offerings to the Hawaiian volcano goddess failed to save the Kalapana Store & Drive-Inn, which succumbed Wednesday to lava flowing from Kilauea Volcano.
Owner Walter Yamaguchi, 82, had proclaimed that his store would be untouched by the lava because of his special relationship with the volcano goddess Pele. But, before dawn, a lava finger extending from the flow engulfed the building, Civil Defense officials said.
“Well, what can you do?” Yamaguchi said. “Pele, she made me collect the insurance. If no burn, I don’t collect.”
No other structures in the now-deserted community were hit Wednesday as lava continued to pour from the Kupaianaha vent at a rate of 650,000 cubic meters a day, officials said.
Lava flowed into the ocean near the site of the Puna Canoe Club.
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