I imagine many of you are too young to have memories of this event. I was a young child on a military airplane with my family. We had family in the Kelso area and would not know until we returned if they were okay. (they were fine) I have only heard stories from the west side of the state for most of my life, but now that I live on the east side I have heard many more fascinating stories as this side got the brunt of the ash. Anyone here alive during that time? And anyone near the area? I will use this thread for to put some articles. A few stories really get to me-one of them about Harry Truman who refused to leave and died on that mountain that day. Others died as well.
I was alive, and already living and working in France. So it didn't touch me directly at all, but it sure was all over the news, even over here.
I remember the day! I heard about it on the radio and was amazed that somebody other than Harry Truman was named Harry Truman!
I was out of high school but not yet enlisted in the Navy when Mount St Helens went boom. Remember it quite clearly. As a phenomenon of nature it was fascinating. But the human stories of people who were too dumb to listen to warnings and remained close to the mountain as it got ready to blow were . . . well, let's just say "illuminating" and leave it at that.
I was alive and living in Salt Lake City working for Eastern Airlines. We had flights cancelled to/from Seattle and Portland. Reports of aircraft windshields being scratched and engines being damaged. Flights were being rerouted for a long time afterwards due to airborne particulates.
I was overseas when it happened, but my parents split in '80 and I moved back to Seattle from June of '80 to January of '81 before going back to Australia. When I got back in June there was still ash all over everything; people were shoveling it off their roofs, and there was a fine ash coating all over EVERYTHING that not even the Pacific NW rain seemed to be able to eradicate. In hindight, it was probably still coming down out of the atmosphere for weeks or months, like fallout. Then the interesting thing was how local artists started using the stuff. People 'bottled' it in wine bottles and made labels for it, "Chateau St. Helens", "A very fine bouquet" and stuff like that. Glass blowers, in particular, were doing crazy cool stuff with St. Helens ash. That lasted well into the 80's, IIRC. Several years ago the mountain was smoking again. I remember seeing it from the air for a few years, and then it stopped. Ring of fire, baby!
I remember the ash everywhere, especially one particular morning-it was all over the playground and we couldn't play. I think it was from pre-or post eruptions, the time line is blurry to me.
I was 22 and watching the news in amazement. The video of the mountain collapsing and exploding, trying to grasp the sheer scale of what I was watching. Half a fucking mountain just caved in and blew up!
I think it is interesting to think about in today's perspective. In one of the videos I posted people were trying to get back to their homes or cabins the day prior to the eruption. "We pay taxes!" one lady said. Sheesh. No one wants to listen to experts. (Not no one, but many people)
I remember it from the news, and while I can remember the news and the actual event vividly, I can't really remember much of what happened from the eruption. I can recall that there was ash spread pretty far, and that the area itself was affected, but not much else. The most vivid thing I can recall happening afterwards is seeing footage on tv showing ash covering cars somewhere.
I visited Ft. Worden with my girlfriend's son on a beautifully clear day. I got a picture of him with Mt. St. Helens over his shoulder. Cool pic.
small world! I had just joined the Air Force and was on "delayed entry" and would be going to basic at San Antonio in a couple of months.
I was in the sixth grade and living in northern California. I vaguely remember someone talking to the class about it, reassuring us it was not a concern. As I recall, I was a little confused as I had, til then, thought that volcanoes were something that only happened in exotic, faraway places. But Washington?
Watched a documentary about it in 8th grade maybe, when we had a substitute. Both the documentary and the sub neglected to explain that Harry Truman was, in fact, a different person from the President.
Couple of friends of mine had recently moved from NY to Eugene, OR. They said they were scraping several inches of ash off their vehicles and the entire landscape looked as if it was covered with snow. Worst "falling from the sky" I ever had in West LA was from the brush fires in Pacific Palisades a few years ago. About a half-inch of ash on everything. Killed most of the plants on the patio and gummed up the motor on my bike so I had to ditch it. Mother Nature FTW.
Some of the recent fires and even the volcano eruption in Hawaii and other disasters make Mt St Helens seem pale in comparision. I think that the data collected at the time, the footage and the stories that go along with it are pretty fascinating for its time. Here is the story on this picture: 40 years ago. A red Ford Pinto with a blue dirt bike. The story behind one of the most puzzling photos of Mount St Helens' May 1980 eruption. You've no doubt seen the photo circulating on the Internet, stripped of all context save for the date and location. You've also no doubt wondered who took the photo, what were they doing up there in the first place, and whether they made it out alive. Richard "Dick" Lasher spent that Saturday night packing some gear figuring he'd head out first thing in the morning to get a look at the mountain before it blew. His plan involved hitching his bike to the back of his Pinto, driving up to Spirit Lake, then exploring the area via dirt roads on the bike. He'd leave before dawn and arrive at the lake right at daybreak. Tired from packing, Lasher slept in an hour or two past his planned departure time. He swore in telling the story many years later that sleeping in that morning saved his life. Based on the angle of the photo and the surrounding terrain, it appears Lasher drove down toward Spirit Lake from the north, likely dropping down from U.S. 12 and the town of Randle into the forest roads of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. He possibly made it as far south as Forest Road 26 by 8:32 that morning. The time the volcano blew. He pulled over and attempted to turn around seeing as the ash cloud was heading his way and fast. He jumped out of the car and ran up the hillside to get some pics, thinking he might just die for it, and hoping someone would find the camera at least as it was a phenomenal sight that filled the sky. The first picture he took was the one with the Pinto in the road and the motorcycle still in the back with that HUGE cloud going up in the sky in the background. Had Lasher made it to Spirit Lake, he'd almost certainly have died. Spirit Lake met the full impact of the volcano’s lateral blast. The sheer force of the blast lifted the lake out of its bed and propelled it about 85 stories into the air to splash onto adjacent mountain slopes. He made his way back down the mountain after being quickly overtaken by the ash cloud. He was completely blinded, and had to drive on the opposite side of the road steering by staying right on the opposite side of the road heading into oncoming traffic, but encountered nobody going up. The car choked out after a while and he rode his motorcycle out of the mountains back to the room he had rented. So, yes, the photographer behind that mystery photograph did survive to see it widely disseminated. Whatever became of the Pinto and the bike, however, I don't know. Credit: Daniel Strohl
