Kīlauea began erupting on May 3, sending molten lava into residential communities and forcing more than 1,500 people and a still-undetermined number of horses to evacuate. | Photo: U.S. Geological Survey

A number of horses have been removed from the path of blazing lava emitting from the Kīlauea volcano on the island of Hawaii.

Hawaii is the largest of the Hawaiian Islands, and Kīlauea is the most active of the five shield volcanoes that comprise the island. Kīlauea began erupting on May 3, sending molten lava into residential communities and forcing more than 1,500 people and a still-undetermined number of horses to evacuate.

“We do not have a complete count … because some owners evacuated their horses on their own without assistance from the government agencies (such as) the County of Hawaii, State of Hawaii Department of Agriculture, (or) the University of Hawaii,” said Jason D. Moniz, DVM, program manager for the Hawaii Department of Agriculture’s Animal Disease Control Branch