Now, the Rest of the Story!

Unhappy with this turn of events, native Hawaiians went to the Halemaumau fire pit where Pele was said to reside and made offerings of fruit, flowers, and gin, beseeching her to spare the lighthouse. Remarkably, only hours later the lava flow forked around th tower, leaving a mere 8-foot perimeter unscathed. The beacon survived the disaster and was relighted a few months later as an automated light beacon. Due to its fortuitous career, it was nicknamed "The Lucky Lighthouse."

Many acres of new land were added to the Big Island during the 1960 eruption, and more has been created in subsequent volcanic episodes. The lighthouse once stood at the edge of the sea, but thanks to Pele's real estate building program, it's now more than a mile inland. The land is barren.