Land Surveyors Were Boots On The Ground And Eyes In The Sky During Kilauea Eruption

Last May, as lava erupted from Kilauea, land surveyors from Stantec put personnel on the ground to stay ahead of the lava flowing from Fissure no. 8.

ƒ??We were trying to figure out where it might eventually go,ƒ? said Victor Rasgado, Stantecƒ??s senior land surveyor.

Protected by gas detectors and gas masks, he and his team did the grunt work, marking spots and establishing what surveyors call control points.

"We were using anything out on the ground that would be visible from a UAV at 1,000 feet," he said.

Those markers helped the University of Hawaii-Hilo, USGS, and Civil Defense map where the lava had traveled and where it might go.

Read the full story at Hawaii News Now (includes a video report)