HONOLULU (AP) — Scientists say lava creeping toward rural communities on Hawaii’s Big Island is slowing down.

The U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said on its website Saturday that the flow front has slowed considerably over the past day and there has been a reduction in smoke.

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser (http://bit.ly/1tHXWfr) reports that the flow is about 1.4 miles upslope from the outskirts of the Pahoa community and has advanced more than 10 miles from its source at Pu’u ‘O’o crater.

The lava emerged from a vent on June 27.

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