It is good news for the few people who still have homes there.

Jack Thompson is a full-time resident who, despite the ever present threat from the volcano, refuses to leave.

Thompson loves living in Royal Gardens. He calls it paradise. But he is well aware of Pele's power.

Thompson has watched over the past 25 years as the volcano has wiped out almost all of his neighborhood, including his father's home.

The current eruption at Kilauea Volcano began with fountain of fire Jan. 3, 1983.

Fingers of hot molten lava cut a path toward the ocean below.

The Royal Gardens subdivision was about three and a half miles down slope. It was a sparsely populated grid of roads with 1,500 lots but only about 75 homes.

Lava destroyed the first home in Royal Gardens two months to the day after the eruption began. The structure was burned, then swallowed up and buried by the volcano.

Over the next 25 years almost 200 homes in Royal Gardens, Kalapana and Kapaahu would be destroyed. The damage topped $60 million.

But Thompson's home was spared. On high enough ground and between two gulches, it somehow survived.

The roads in and out of Royal Gardens are closed, cut off years ago by flow after flow. Thompson gets in and out on a dirt bike.

Our news crew arrived via helicopter.

"I've lived in this house since a little bit before the lava started," Thompson said as he walked toward the front door.

Thompson calls himself the only full time resident still living in a home in Royal Gardens.

There is another resident, Dean Schneider, but Thompson said his friend Schneider is a part-time resident who lives in a large tent on his property and often spends time elsewhere

Thompson's place is well maintained. There are three bedrooms, a spacious living room, a full kitchen, a satellite dish and a water catchment system that never runs dry.

"Well, you know, the place works like a motor home, you know. It's gas appliances. Gas stove, gas ice box, and water heater and all that," Thompson said.

His property is dotted with brilliant flowers, enhanced by exotic plants and ripe with a wide variety of fruit trees.

Best of all, Thompson said, is the view of the Pacific Ocean. It is the reason he moved there in the first place.

Thompson is not always alone at his home. He opens it to guests looking for a unique bed and breakfast experience. He calls his bed and breakfast "Lava House."

"You should see my guest book. There's people from all over the world that's come here. The Minister of finance from Russia. William Shatner brought his family up here," Thompson said.

Most of his guests these days visit for just a few hours. They sit on the lanai, eat lunch and check out the view.

"I think most people are afraid to stay here, because when they see it on TV they see the, you know, wild flowing fast lava, and it's just not like that down here," Thompson added.

When the lave crept to within just a few blocks of his home earlier this week, Thompson told us he was not worried.

"No. No. I mean if it takes the place, like I say there's a thousand other things could have happened to you in other places. There's always something. So, like I say, I'm blessed. If this is the only problem I have, no problem," he told KGMB9.

Friday night at 10 p.m. KGMB9 will air the second story in a two part series on Royal Gardens. We will ask the scientist in charge of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory about the likelihood of the current flow reaching Thompson's home and we will discuss the unpredictable nature of volcanos.

Thompson calls his bed and breakfast "Lava House." Anyone interested in contacting him or staying at his home can contact him by calling (808) 756-4270.

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