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By Erin Smith
Bladen County residents are forever at the ready to help someone in their time of need. When Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano began to erupt, it was only natural that Bladen County Emergency Management Director Bradley Kinlaw agreed to help.
“I’m very excited,” said Kinlaw of the opportunity.
When asked how managing the volcanic eruption compared to managing a crisis involving a major storm or gas leak at an industrial site, Kinlaw said the process is basically the same.
Kinlaw is part of a ten member Incident Management team from North Carolina who left on Saturday for Hawaii. Team members come from emergency management agencies in Bladen, Gates, Lee, McDowell, Moore, and Onslow counties; fire departments in Cary, Charlotte and Greensboro and from NC Emergency Management. The team is working from an emergency operations center in Hilo and offering support to the Hawaii County Civil Defense agency.
“They have a good system in place,” said Kinlaw of his Hawaiian counterparts.
He said the goal right now is to develop an evacuation plan for a large portion fo the island. Kinlaw explained there are only two main roads on the island and currently just one road is passable. The other roadway is blocked with lava and the remaining road has developed several large cracks which are growing at a rate of one inch per day, said Kinlaw.
Kinlaw also said the volcano is developing fissures or cracks where lava is spewing out of the mountain. Hawaii has already evacuated some neighborhoods and there are numerous road blocks in place due to the eruption.
Kinlaw said they are also monitoring areas near the ocean in preparation for evacuation. He explained that when the lava mixes with the ocean water, it creates hydrochloric acid. When this occurs, it requires areas to be evacuated. Kinlaw said it depends on the prevailing wind direction as to which areas need to be evacuated when lava flows reach the ocean.
Kinlaw said the goal of the management team is to provide as much support to the Hawaiian officials as possible and to go wherever they are needed on the island.
The team plans to remain in Hawaii for two weeks.
Kinlaw said that while he is in Hawaii, he hopes to be able to refine his own skills and learn from his deployment.
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