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Great Balls of Fire

May 20, 2018 (Pahoa, Hawaii, United States) Honorable Mention

Seventeen days into the increasingly violent volcanic eruptions of Hawaii's Kilauea volcano, one man decided to be a champion of property despite evacuation warnings and a State of Emergency. Darryl Clinton stayed to fight the unpredictable flying chunks of molten rock, known as lava bombs, that were being hurled from an unstable fissure 100 yards away from his home. Clinton stayed "armed with just a fire extinguisher and a garden hose" to make sure his house didn't burst into flames from the great balls of fire and lava.

Three days after a plume of volcanic ash had reached over 30,000 feet into the air, Clinton was hit by one of nature's catapults and snapped his leg.

Submitted on 05/23/2018

Submitted by: Art Junkie
Reference: https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/22/us/hawaii-residents-lava-bombs/index.html


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Bruce said:
Definitely Keep: Honorable Mention
I've visited Volcanoes National Park (where Kilauea is) three times over the years, and one thing I've learned is that when Mother Nature is upset you need to be VERY careful. While people like Clinton may have lived in close proximity to the volcano for many years, that doesn't mean they're any more immune than the rest of us from the dangers when these eruptions occur. Having lava spewing out of fissures only 100 yards from your home should be more than enough for any sane person to get out of there quickly. The fact that he stayed around with only a garden hose and fire extinguisher to protect himself from a volcano is more than enough for an HM as far as I'm concerned.

Candi said:
Definitely Keep: Honorable Mention
Interesting fact about fresh lava: If you're close enough to it without protection (such as The Force), you can go *poof* just from the heat. What a dimbulb! Thanks, Art!