BIG ISLAND, HAWAII — Hawaii's Kilauea volcano claimed its first serious injury after a local was lava-bombed while on his home's balcony.<br /><br />The Honolulu Star Advertiser reports that according to Hawaii County Fire Department officials, the homeowner had been standing on his 3rd floor balcony when a lava bomb struck his leg, shattering it from shin to foot. He's alive but currently in the hospital, reports ABC 13.<br /><br />Lava bombs are masses of molten rock that are hurled hundreds of feet into the air during an eruption, and which solidify before hitting the ground.<br /><br />According to officials, these lava spatters can be as large as a cow and weigh as much as a refrigerator. Even small pieces can be deadly.<br /><br />Scientists believe the spatter as well as a recent change in lava flow may be due to old and new magma mixing in the ground, creating hotter and higher lava fountains.<br /><br />Elsewhere on Big Island, quick-flowing lava from two fissures has reportedly merged and cut through a highway towards the ocean. This latest development has prompted evacuations and health hazard warnings due to increased sulfur dioxide emissions.
