My dad was supposed to be on the mountain the day it blew. He and his best friend had a mining company and a claim on the mountain. However, May 18th, was Lindsey's birthday and the group ALWAYS went to the horse races in his birthday. One guy stayed up on the claim and he perished. They lost everything in the pyroclastic flow, the cabin was blown flat, and their heavy equipment was ruined. I'm so glad it was Lindsey's birthday that day!!!
Wow something good happened on a birthday? Must've been by chance because they are pagan. One of only two birthdays mentioned in the Bible was where John the Baptist got decapitated. The other time was when pharaoh killed the baker
My sis and me watched it blow from our backyard in Longview, Wa. After hearing the loudest boom ever, we looked up and across toward the mountain and noticed a lot of black smoke (ash) spewing out of it quite rapidly. My dad comes running out to see and he got out his camera and shot a lot of pictures. We had an absolutely perfect view from where we were. There were no trees in our way to prevent us from seeing the entire event. As soon as they let people back up to the mountain, we all went up there and saw the devastation. I think my dad cried a little as we were all heartbroken with the amount of ruin left where homes, trees, animals were, just months ago, present and thriving. All that was left was quiet and gray.
I’m in awe. We got ash in the form of rain, for quite a while, it would coat the leaves and trees, and we could see the cloud from various eruptions on a clear day, from Mercer Island. But man, you guys really, really got the brunt. We were just spectators. My grandma heard it, however, from just south of us, if you can believe it. Wow, like I said, I’m in awe. Your story is amazing.
I was 12, living out in south Salem, Oregon, we received a lot of ash and I remember the sky getting dark, it was crazy! I was so amazed that the ash traveled that far!
@@sweetmissypetuniawilson9206you guys got way more than we did, in Seattle. We only got it in the rain, for months. It would coat the trees and leaves, but no where near what those of you, just south of it, experienced. I could see the ash clouds from every eruption, on a clear day, however. That day, was cloudy, as per usual up here, as you well know. I’m a “Missy” too, by the way. I was 9 when it blew. I was in Hungary the day of the beginning of the war in Ukraine, and I saw the exact same phenomena, with ash coating cars, awnings, and even the streets. I couldn’t understand why it felt so familiar until I realized it must be ash coming in the rain, from the bombing - aka - ash. It was so weird. I never saw it again, however. I was there for a few months.
I was living in Vancouver WA. In 1980. I was 12 yo. I remember before the May 18th eruption there was an earthquake and it made them close school for the rest of the year. On may 18th we were helping a friend move and could see the full ash plume from the freeway. Never forget it. It was such a crazy day.
Thank you so much for sharing your firsthand experience during the Mt. St. Helens eruption in 1980! Moments like these truly leave a lasting impression. We appreciate you sharing your unique perspective and being a part of our community!
You were right in the firing line, weren’t you? Wow. I was on Mercer Island, and we would see ash, when it rained, coating the plants, trees and cars, just a bit. But you guys, wow, you really got it. I was 9.
I was in Vancouver staying a week with my aunt and uncle when it blew I’m 58 now so in 1980 I think I was 15 or 14 or something like that, but I remember all the coming down and we couldn’t see daylight anymore and then I would go to other parts of the town with my uncle and it wouldn’t be as bad and we’re in the same town. It was weird Portland got it as well because that’s where I lived when this went down and I got back to the house and you couldn’t even see the yard. It was so thick in Portland. So I can’t imagine what it would’ve been like anywhere closer
I remember visiting Mt St Helens about 1984 and all these people were talking about how all the animal life and vegetation is never coming back. Went there again 10 years later, animals everywhere, trees etc. Went back two years ago, can't even tell where it happened if you never knew. To think that nature can't handle a volcano.
They didn't know what they were talking about. Ash is a fertilizer, after forest fires, assuming enough rain, the forest recovers within a few years. The island in Iceland that blew up turned into a lush and beautiful island within 3 years after just by birds carrying seeds there.
What i find fascinating is them finding trout a few years later in the lake where all the fish had been killed and no one could trace where they came from!
I watched it erupt from a hilltop viewpoint near Olympia. The prevailing winds blew most of the ash east towards Yakima, but we definitely got a dusting. I collected a bunch of the ash and, as I was doing a ceramics class in high school, used the ash to make a glaze for some of my pots. It came out of the kiln with a deep earthy dark green flecked with black and gray accents. Still one of the better souvenirs of the event.
My uncle lived around their and sent me some of the pumice rock (I think that's what they called it) and I thought that was the coolest thing. And a book that talked about the guy who refused to leave his home and ended up dying. I think their was a song about him or something.
I was living in Lacey off of College but was in Longview that morning. Within minutes I was I-5 North on my motorcycle trying to outrun the ash cloud but it overtook me a couple miles before the Toutle River bridge and traffic just stopped. I said screw this and drove on the shoulder... When I got to the Toutle River it was insane, the shoulder ended at the bridge so it took a bit to get over it and it was scary as Hell...lol. Finally got out of the cloud at Centralia... Hell of a morning...lol
Seems like I watch all old programs like this they are just so much better than the stuff they make to day. Maybe it's a sign I'm getting old 😆 but I think im right more time & effort put into old stuff.
We're thrilled that you enjoyed our documentary! We put a lot of effort into researching and telling the story of the Mount St. Helens eruption, and we're glad that it resonated with you. Thanks for your support of KSPS PBS and for taking the time to leave a comment!
I wasn't born until 1984, but I have lived very close to this mountain for most of my life and still do. I see it every time it's clear outside, all our swimming holes on the Toutle river still have ash Banks and evidence of the mountain all around. I still never get tired of watching videos like this.
I watched it happen as a young man in downtown Vancouver, Wa. And it was mind boggling. Mother nature takes no prisoners and needs not apologize for it.i felt very fortunate to be a part of seeing history in the making.RIP to those 53 people who were warned but got too close and suffocated from the ash trying to escape. Ain't nice trying to fool mother nature!
@@richardbrowning8221 There is a spot in Vancouver, WA, at the intersection of SR 500 and SR 503 where you can clearly see the top of Mount St Helens over the businesses. Not far from there, a block or two south of the intersection of SR 500 and 137th Ave there is a clearing for power line pylons that provides a fantastic view of Mount Hood in Oregon.
I flew past Mt. St. Helens in 1975 on a flight from Boise to Seattle. She was a beautiful mountain all covered in snow. She had a perfect cone shape like Mt. Fujiyama in Japan. I was awestruck. When it blew I thought, "Darn that was the prettiest mountain, too bad it's gone."
Amazing that its been 40 years ago today. May 18th, 1980 to May 18th, 2020. I never get tired of watching and learning about the eruption. Incredible what the power of nature can do to change a landscape in seconds.
Mack Pines I have the National Geographic edition on the mountain and had brought it to work in 1980. Just about everyone in my office wanted a copy (Portland, Oregon) . National Geographic got a lot of subscribers that year.
and just think, 40 years before that WWII was still going on. I bring this up because I can remember the Mt St. Helens eruption. I never thought I'd be able to say "I remember 40 years ago..." just like the folks that went through WWII.
1) If this documentary was produced in 2005, maybe an update for 2025 is in order? 2) Feel for those who perished and those who lost everything - I experienced having endured a flood in our large home in Carmel IN, the remediation of the finished walk-out basement and backyard to prevent similar events and then the fire in the same home, whilst our home was vacant and for-sale, during a winter ice storm, whilst we were now living 800 miles away in Dallas, the frustration and sense of helplessness that I experienced, not being able to insulate my wife and kids from that event and not being able to safeguard our investment, actually had me in tears at one point - albeit not on the scale of this or other more recent disasters, I nonetheless can appreciate the shock, fear and helplessness that these events have on the lives of so many…🙏 3) Pretty documentary host and definitely someone who understands the geo, culture and topic - well done
We lived on the west side of the mountain, near Kelso, about 13 miles south of the entrance to the Spirit Lake Highway. We woke the morning of the eruption to an earthquake. We later realized we didn't hear the actual explosion, even though our country home was not far from the mountain...I'd say about fifty miles "as the crow flies". When I went outside, it was "raining" warm mud. Wet ash covered the ground like gray snow...eerily quiet. The cattle and horse seemed bewildered...the only grass visible in our pasture was under a lone fir tree. After providing hay and fresh water for the animals, we made our way to a favorite spot in the hills to the east in our old Datsun pickup (Mom, Dad, our two young boys and a St. Bernard in the small cab). We rounded the hill, passing the point at which we were accustomed to having our first view of the familiar ice cream cone-shaped summit of Mt. St. Helens in all her glory. To our shock and amazement, there was no summit. Not until we climbed a few hundred yards farther could we see what was left of "our mountain". Not yet knowing the extent of the devastation, my husband and I felt an immediate sense of loss of a treasured childhood wilderness-paradise; and at the same time a strange inability to comprehend the gargantuan force of nature that took her from us.
We camped in the area in the 70s and I have perfect pictures of the snow covered mountain. I had moved to Manzanita, but kept my house in Grant Park, renting it to friends. I was in town that day and we watched the eruption from the rooftop. It was astounding. After driving back to the beach later that day, we woke up up the next morning to inches of volcanic dust over everything. For years afterward, the kids gathered volcanic rocks from the beach that had washed down the rivers, out to sea and then were deposited on the beaches. We still have some. I was 31 the year it exploded. It’s 2024 now and this excellent documentary has given me lots of information about the mountain’s eruption and aftermath I probably would never have known otherwise. Thanks for your work! Well done!
Really excellent documentary. I was in my senior high school year when Mount St Helen’s erupted. We had ash falling in out east central Alberta town. It made a big impression on me. God bless all of those poor souls that perished in the eruption.
I remember the event well. Watching the news reports, marveling at the sheer power unleashed, and praying for those caught in the cataclysm. Then one or two days later the effects of the eruption became evident half a continent away here in Kansas. A strange other worldly orange sky as the ash cloud dispersed around the globe. The power of nature is awesome. To be both held in awe, and respect.
May 5th 2020 and I just watched this video.. I lived in Vancouver that year after graduating from Hudsons Bay HS in 79.. My dad and I sat on our roof in Hazel Dell and took many pictures the saturday before it blew. But what I wanted to share was, the Feb. before that Sunday in May, a group of us went backpacking up St Helens to a small lake.(don't know if it even had a name), and spent a couple days fishing. We were catching some of the largest trout we had ever seen. After the first eruptions we figured it out that the very old and very large fish were coming up to the colder water. I was actually in church when it blew, but watched from the parking lot there at Vancouver 1st church on Main St. next to the Safeway. We collected some ash but the front all went to the north and east. Thanks for letting me share
Thanks for sharing your story and perspective, quite interesting! Examining history can sometimes be painful but nevertheless important to relive at times. I was 22 on that day and living in Va. and could only relate to daily newspaper posts, God bless! S. Carolina
I was sitting on the dock with my bare feet in the water, in a little town called Boardman, on the Columbia river, with a really nice looking girl named Tammy. The temperature was about 80 degrees f. I thought it was kind of odd because it was so dark and cloudy over in Washington. Later on that day I learned the mountain had erupted. The very next day I was standing on the Cowlitz River bridge in kelso Washington watching the log jammed mud flowing down towards the Columbia river. Lots of debris and vehicles were in that mud flow. What an amazing and sad sight that was.
@@tammybarrett7650 your still alive? Thank God! That was a long time ago. Who would have thought that after all these years we would make some sort of contact? I guess you must be married. You have been in my thoughts all this time. I don't know what's wrong with me. I should have held on to you as long as I could. Oh well. I hope you've had a good life. Whoever married you is one lucky man, I would think.
I was living in Japan when my Dad sent me a polaroid shot of the dark ash cloud heading in the direction of Thorp, WA where our farm was. This was an excellent documentary. Very well done in all aspects of a very important event in Washington State's natural history.
Great storytelling. I liked the voice of the female narrator. The Mount Saint Helens eruption has fascinated me ever since I knew about it. From the Philippines
When Mt. St. Helens exploded, I was stationed at Ellsworth AFB, SD (Strategic Air Command (SAC)). The base sent all the bombers and tankers to other SAC bases out of harms way...It was amazing watching all those planes take off....NATURE WILL ALWAYS WIN.....
@@lisamariemary We had B-52 bombers and KC-135 air-refueling planes: a bomber would take off followed by a KC-135 - it was known as a "minimum interval -take off"...around 20 combined - might have been more or less....
May 18. 1990. Stationed at Ft Lewis took my 5 month old baby, Jon and other kids yo the Toutle River. All the trees were down. Houses were inundated with mud.
Kudos to to Alison Kartevold. A fine documentary. And, a perfect example of how the quality of information and the consumable but not flamboyant way it is relayed to the viewer by public broadcasting is far and away better than commercial television.
MoaSize, yes, I second your assessment, bloody good quality documentary! So much better than many commercial, quickly produced, so called documentaries.
This type of documentary is far better than the sensationalist, dramatic garbage that in this subject instill more fears than the scientists who make their comments in these documentaries would want to.
This truly is a realy good made documentarie,I was amazed by the intelligenze and knowledge of all those spezialists,mark this one or make a copy,those kinda great material is really hard 2 find online.
I think I might like the Minute by Minute doc by A&E better from back when they used to actually make real docs rather than just reality tv Tho this does go deep into the after effects of and life after the eruption that others don’t
It was a gorgeous day. I was fishing in a raft on a Cascade High Lake 150 miles South and heard the explosion but didn’t know what it was until I got home a couple days later. The sound travelled down the Cascade range. My Dad was a professor of Volcanology in Eugene and it was the highlight of his career. We hardly saw him for days. Some of his graduate students were near the mountain helping with research.
I was there on 5-18-80 . One thing they never tell you is that the entire ash cloud lit up with flashes , as the gasses exploded within , bringing the cloud to a HUGE lightening show ! I remember Harry Truman as he was interviewed .
Any of you posting realize Mt Novarupta here in Alaska blew in 1912, largest volcanic eruption ever recorded in history, approximately 9 times stronger then st Helen’s and changed the worlds weather approx for a year?😳
@@TroyOttosen-jg7tt That was a huge eruption, imagine being anywhere near at that time. However, Mnt Tambora in 1815 and Krakatoa in 1883 are more powerful recorded eruptions. Unrecorded are so much bigger it's insane. Yellowstone literally has removed mountain ranges from the face of the earth - Super crazy. look at a map of the US and you can see the path of the yellowstone hotspot caldera through the cascades and rockies as the North american continent has moved over it.
@@hisgross I live in Alaska now, just a fact, Mt Novarupta here in Alaska blew up in 1912 at Katmai nt park area it is the largest eruption ever recorded in earth! Look that up!😳😳😳
What she meant was we are adults and we don’t need the government making choices for us…. My land my choice.. they want to stay. Tyrants have no right to stop them from getting killed their own way.
I was 10 years old and I lived in Medical Lake, Wa. Which I'd 15 min outside of Spokane. Wa. And 200 miles from Mt. St. Helen's. I was outside playing with my grandmother's dog. It was a gorgeous Sunday and about 12pm I watched the ash cloud roll in and it went from day light to midnight black. I will never forget going to the Tuttle River after the eruption with my other grandmother and what was left of the river was indescribable.
To those who have witnessed this event, you have seen one of earths many beautiful spectacles. Helen woke from her slumber and she was angry. I may have not seen Helen blow her temper but I have witnessed a tragic event as it unfolded in 2001. I only have to reach into my mental filing cabinet and pull out the folder that hold the images, sounds of that fateful day. RIP to those who have perished in both events.
I was 5 when it went. Although I was 100 miles away and not fully understanding what was happening, after it blew I was able to go in my yard and collect Ash that fell. I still Have that jar of ash. Then in my late 20's (2004) we were certain she would blow AGAIN. She burped a few times and fell back to sleep. I am 49 now, I still feel before my life is over, she will blow again. If so, I will witness something more than once in my life that most people will never see EVER. P.N.W. is so beautiful, which is why i will never leave, but we have some beasts of mountains here.
I actually have a old pill bottle full of the volcanic ash. Its super fine, no chunks at all in it. The previous owner of the house was there when the ash was falling. He collected a few containers and left us one. It has tape on it with The words "St.Helens,Washington Volcanic Ash May 18th 1980, Clyde S. Brown"
I still have some too, in an old cough syrup bottle. It is fine like baby powder. My grandmother lived in Wenatchee and we would visit her every year. We visited Rocky Reach Dam the following year and they had ash trays in their gift shop, supposed to made of ash, that looked like a volcano. You put your cigarette in the ash tray and the smoke would come through the top of the volcano.
Harry didn’t think there was “nothing” to fear, he actually accepted the risk, and went down with the ship, as he stated. Good for him for fighting for his right to his land and to die, if necessary, as he lived. I was 9 at the time, and I remember all of it. We could see the eruptions from Mercer Island, in the form of an ash cloud when the sky was clear. I took photos with this cool old camera my grandfather used to own. Unfortunately the day it blew for the last time, it was, of course, cloudy. My Grandma heard it blow, just south of us, if you can believe it. 8:00 am, May 18th, 1980. But it was fascinating to grow up following every tremor, earthquake, the growth of the lava dome, and praying for anyone on that day, who may have been in the path. It was an amazing thing to experience. I had a cool poster of the major eruption on my wall for years.
I took a natural disaster class from this guy's graduate professor. Nobody expected this. Best class I've ever taken. I know to read USGS reports before buying a house now.
I was born in Portland and grew up in the surrounding areas. My mother used to point out Mt St Helens and referred to it as "The Snow Cone Mountain" because, with its rounded top, it looked similar to an ice cream cone....and I vividly recall what it used to look like. In the 50's, we moved to CA, but when it blew in 1980, shortly thereafter my wife and I rode a motorcycle to have a view. Police barriers would only let us get so close, for it was still belching steam. I bought a one gallon container, scraped up some ash, (which was everywhere) and transported it back home. For years I looked at it and then finally dumped it on my garden. Did I notice any difference? Why, yes, since you asked....tomatoes the size of my feet with a similar shape!
I lived in Washington for a while and visits the mountain many times. This website was very very interesting and I learned more info than I had known from the past. Thank you so much. Miss Washington so very much.
I was in Vancouver on May 18th 1980 driving north at 8:30 am and saw the eruption; It was awe inspiring. 10 years later I was up on the north side with a local Boy Scout troop planting seedlings. In the early 1960s i worked at a Church Youth camp on Spirit Lake and have many pleasant memories of hiking to Leta Lake, timberline on St. Helens. I am pleased to see the rebirth of the forest.
I was 23 and lived in Portland. I was on the roof of our apartment and watched in awe. She became “my mountain” and I have witnessed every eruption since. I love that mountain.
I was up there about 3 months after the blast. I ran a backhoe in the red zone. I was digging out roads ditches, looking for cars, bodies Nd what ever I dug up. I found a lot of vehicles thank God only one body. I did not sleep for a month after that one. We stayed at yale Washington and it was a 2 hr drive up there every day work 12 he's and a 2 he drive home every day. 7 days a week. We got 29 a hr from 0 to 40 hrs. 40 to 60 was time and half. 60 to 80 was double time and 80 to 100 was triple time and everything over 100 was 5 times. I made really good money in 1980. The only time we got time off was they had probes stuck all over the mountain and any time it hickuped of rumpled they send a helo out of Vancouver and send us home. If it happen at 8 in the morning we got sent home for the rest of the day with pay. I was there working for about 1 1/2 would still be there but job ran out( federal government job) best paying job I ever had. Only thing is the amount of rain it rained there. 120 inch a year on average. People there dont tan they rust.
Great story loved the 80es early 90es then things seem to have gone down hill since so sad how the world is now are countries are completely different remember on the mainstream media when it was ok my god how brave people were
A+ documentary, very well done; one of the best information rich science documentaries I've seen. Mt. Saint Helen's is a beautiful mountain and amazing how she literally rose from the ashes and created such amazing natural features. Plus, she is a living breathing science laboratory and she's very talkative, from a nature point-of-view.
On The day of the big eruption, 5/18/80, I had a massive car wreck that put me in the hospital for 8 days. Much of that time was spent watching the drama of the eruption unfold in real time. I've always felt connected to that mountain! I enjoyed this
Thanks for watching our video! It's always fascinating to learn more about historical events like the eruption of Mount St. Helens, and the role that various groups played in responding to the disaster. Thanks again for watching and for your support! Best regards, The KSPS PBS team
Today is May 18, 2020. It's been 40 years since the eruption. I watched it with my neighbors in the Kent valley. It's still the most bizarre thing I've ever seen. A very sad day for those who lost their lives....
@@Spuggybear All the western WA transplants I've met here in the SW all left because of the spring of 1999 when we had 93 straight days of rain. We didn't see more than 2 days of sunshine in a row until the summer of 2000.
Feeber Izer to each their own 🤷♂️ the cloudy weather is one of the biggest highlights for me personally, I think everyone that lives here should take vitamin D daily though.
Harry Truman was definitely a unique old fellow, but there is one part of his story that upsets me, particularly: taking the risk of staying put would have been okay, if it had only affected him personally. However, all those poor cats who were his pets had no choice. They died with him, because of him. It's always them that I have felt the most sorry for in his part of this tragedy.
@@ajbianchi85😂😂😂 I am known as the crazy cat lady who feeds and takes care of all the stray cats in my area so you would think I wouldn’t have found this funny but you made me laugh.
I was 10 years old when Mt St Helen's eruption. I'm 49 now, its been almost 40 years ago. My family and I were living in Olympia Washington. Cars stopped working, I remember we had to cover our mouths. It was terrible. Everything covered in ash. Very eerie feeling I had back then.
I actually own some of that ash in a pill bottle that the old owner of my house bottled. He was actually at St.Helens when it blew. He told the story perfectly.
I was five years old when she erupted in 1980. We were camping somewhere in the North Cascade Mountains. All I remember is my daddy packing us up quickly and I-90 was closed and we had to drive home the long way.
I was 9 years old, living in northern WA. I had spent the night with a friend, and was awake, waiting for my friend to wake up. Mt. St. Helens blew, my friend jolted awake and asked, "What was that?!" We heard it over 300 miles away. Soon after, everything was covered in ash - every last thing. The sky, the ground, and every single thing around was gray Cars, roofs, yards, streets, sidewalks - it was like someone took a paint brush and just grayed everything out. My dad scooped up vials of ash from our own backyard and put them in our memory boxes. It lasted for about 2 weeks - seemed like it would never be normal again. I remember watching Harry R Truman on tv defying the evacuation order before the volcano blew. He wasn't afraid, he simply didn't want to leave his home.
It's incredible how nature responds after a devastating disaster such as this eruption of Mount St Helens. Recovery is a miracle that the earth can survive. Yes somethings will die, but! many things will recover and it takes time.
Great documentary. The last one I watched didnt say anything about the animals so I respect them for giving numbers and time to discuss wildfire coming back.
I am very excited to go visit this area this summer. My uncle was working there and sent us a little baggie of volcano ash. I was about 12. When I visited Mt Etna 35 years later and it was erupting rock that was like instant coffee, I swept some up and sent it to him. He’s gone now but he definitely fed my sense of humor, and my sense of curiosity. RIP Uncle Wayne.
Thanks for sharing your story with us! We're glad that our documentary on Mount St. Helens could bring back some memories of your uncle and his connection to the area. We hope that your upcoming visit is full of new discoveries!
I don't think Harry thought there was nothing to fear at all, I think he was willing to become part of the universe once again on his terms, which if that included the eruption, so be it. Definitely admire his logic and emotional perception.
@@jovetj Indeed So in other words Nature warns us all not to do that. Funny enough younger children have been known to be more in tune with nature than older people. In other words nature is the greatest teature to young kids of the younger generation and in time is slowly starting to teach us all.
Great documentary! It's an insightful look into one of the largest geological events in modern US history. It makes me think of the events surrounding Pompeii. Interesting aspect of how Weyhauser did a tremendous amount of work to help rehab the area. I cant imagine being one of the 100s of workers trying to recover their trees in the days immediately after the eruption. I didn't experience Mt. St. Helens 1st hand. I was about 10 years old when it happened. But living on the east coast I remember vividly the news coverage of the eruption. It's great to see how the area has transformed & recovered even as this is an older documentary.
Edith Maring Willey sent ashes to me from the mountain. I'm in Texas. She is my Nana. We all thought Mt.Baker or Rainer would be going off first. Helens was a surprise to us. Went to Washington every summer. Mt.Rainer is my favorite mountain there and Edith Creek was named after my Nana. She was a fine local artist. She 😢always told me that if you don't paint the glaciers perfectly, then people will not buy your work. Her ashes were placed at her creek next to a Heather bush. She wanted to be with her mountain. Me, too. I'm 70 on 1-31-2024 still in Texas. Hope to get home someday. My daughter and her husband have gotten back there first. I get wonderful pictures from her often. Thank you again for y'all's beautiful work. Keep On Keeping On
This was amazing to see. I haved lived in the Pacific Northwest all my life and I will never forget seeing on the news and dealing with all the ash. I cannot wait to visit Johnston Ridge observatory
I was a young father in May 1980, living in Wilsonville,Oregon. I remember the events leading up to the eruption. I recall a young female Portland news reporter, prior to the eruption, asking a geologist "what do you believe will happen to the mountain" The geologist apparently bewilder by such a stupid question said [very profoundly] "well...the mountain is either going to stay the same,get worse, or get better". I remember she was very impressed by the supreme wisdom of the silly answer. Lol. I happened to be driving down I-5 when it erupted. I saw it in my rear view mirror and pulled over on the freeway to watch it broil over the Toutle River One of my customers was Weyerhaeuser, who owned much of the land surrounding Mt.St.Helens. I got to drive up the road to Camp Baker, with Weyerhaeuser employees sometime after the event. Seeing logging equipment, cars, houses,etc covered with the gray volcanic ash. The ash is a fantastic possolan for making high strength concrete. This ash is one of the reasons Roman buildings are still standing 2000 years old, as Roman cement gets stronger by the centuries ,instead of modern Portland cement ,which is only good for 50 years or so. I was amazed at the resilience of the flora and fauna and how quickly nature came back, much to the chagrin of the local environmentalists, who declared "it would take a hundred years for animals and plants to restore the landscape". Within a year or two plants and animals returned ,slowly at first. We were 83 miles away in Wilsonville, and we had to remove volcanic ash from our roof.
I learned recently that the Grand Coulee Dam was made with ash in it to make it stronger.... a site with 30 feet of ash was where that ash was quarried from... and that ash was from a super volcano that went up in Idaho... got the details from one of the Nick Zentner livestreams... a CWU geology professor teaching the public from home via RUclips...
@@lethaleefox6017 Thanks for the update. That's good to know. I used volcanic ash in developing ultra high strength concrete. It is extremely hard. Roman concrete grew in hardness as we know, over centuries, but it took sometimes a year to fully cure. The Romans it appears, took a longer view of building construction. Modern Portland cement cures in days or weeks, but is good for maybe 50 to 100 years at best.
@Nyree Harris Possibly in retrospect, you may be correct, by affording the reporter the benefit of the doubt, as she was required to ask obvious questions. But as I watched the endless parade of geologists talking with news people for many weeks during that time, leading up to the eruption, it was still a comic sideshow of experts postulating what could, would or should happen if the mountain blew, in front of a camera, never to be repeated again. The reporters contributed to the absurdity of asking innumerable questions to the geologist. In the end, as with most great natural events, my point was, nobody had a clue as to whether the mountain would return to low activity, remain static, or massively erupt. It was therefore a huge opportunity for the geologists and the reporters. Not so much for people who lost their lives,and people in the forest products industries.
I flew over St. Helens the Sunday before it blew from a meeting in Anchorage… Grew up in the GNW… then we left for Atlanta Georgia… eventually landed in Orlando Florida. My Children have flown by helicopter into the Mt. St. Helens crater… flown over the devastation of the eruption… but still do not have concept of what took place on that Sunday…. This Preso will help!❤️
On That Sunday, I was sitting in bed, drinking coffee and reading the newspaper when my two children excitedly ran inside to tell me that Mt. St. Helens was erupting. There had already been many steam eruptions and two small ash eruptions that necessitated clean-up, no easy task. As. I had not heard a thing, I thought that one of those was what the kids had seen but I was dead wrong. From my bedroom window the peak of the mountain was hidden but that day I didn’t need to see it. An immensely huge roiling column of black and dark purple ash rising from it and reaching incredibly high into the sky was awe inspiring and frightening. I had loved St. Helens the first time I saw it years earlier. It was a gorgeous mountain known as the Fujiyama of the West but locally and lovingly called The Lady. The views on a drive up the mountain in winter felt as though we were moving through various paintings such as might be seen on Christmas cards. One of my first thoughts that day was a question-what is going on under my feet right now? When the excitement finally died down and life began to go back to normal, I felt bereaved. For so long I had watched and visited Mt. St. Helens in all seasons. For me, she was a presence, always there and only rarely without a gleaming white cap of snow. Early winter was special as the mountain slowly lost her snow coat, the weather changed, the rains came, dripping gray skies, lingered for weeks. We waited
I was in mossyrock, 8 years old. My great aunt and uncle’s living room had a picture window looking at mt St. Helens. It was incredible to watch. We went back home to Seattle. We never had complete darkness as the ash went mostly East, but it sure looked like it snowed. We dealt with ash a long time. We laughed when people sold it, as there were PILES of it on the side of every road. Sadness around David Johnston and Harry Truman were felt by everyone.
I was 11 years old in West Michigan in the late spring of 1980. I remember seeing some of the ash cloud floating in the sky, almost 2,000 mils away. Interesting times.
@@orlandotouristtraps7410 Did you not pay attention? They tried to keep tourists and such out, it doesn't work, because humans are STUPID AS HELL and were more likely to go see the mountain go boom.
I was sitting in a parking lot in Portland OR with my friend. Actually it was Beaverton, but it had just gotten dark and we could see something in the sky walking back to the house. We walked in and my friends mom said, St Helens just blew! It looked like a rocket or something had taken off or something from our view. I was 16 yrs old. Then the tragedy unfolded each day after. I'm 55 now, and worried about America in general!!
I was living in Toppenish which is 85 mile from the mountain. At 8:32am when it blew it woke me up, I looked Out the front door, didn't see any storm clouds, bc I thought it was either thunder or the Army shooting Off Artillery at the Yakima firing Range. Went back to sleep,went to Breakfast, at around 11:30 to the west You seen the ash cloud and at around 12:00pm it went to 12am. The air was Filled with ash, to the point that it hurt just to breathe. Went inside and That's when found out what happened
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
My dad was supposed to be on the mountain the day it blew. He and his best friend had a mining company and a claim on the mountain. However, May 18th, was Lindsey's birthday and the group ALWAYS went to the horse races in his birthday. One guy stayed up on the claim and he perished. They lost everything in the pyroclastic flow, the cabin was blown flat, and their heavy equipment was ruined. I'm so glad it was Lindsey's birthday that day!!!
God didn't want you there. He planned it before Lindsey was born. 😊
It's my birthday on the 18th too!😊
Wow something good happened on a birthday? Must've been by chance because they are pagan. One of only two birthdays mentioned in the Bible was where John the Baptist got decapitated. The other time was when pharaoh killed the baker
That's some Final Destination sh*t right there! 👀
Thank God.
My sis and me watched it blow from our backyard in Longview, Wa. After hearing the loudest boom ever, we looked up and across toward the mountain and noticed a lot of black smoke (ash) spewing out of it quite rapidly. My dad comes running out to see and he got out his camera and shot a lot of pictures. We had an absolutely perfect view from where we were. There were no trees in our way to prevent us from seeing the entire event. As soon as they let people back up to the mountain, we all went up there and saw the devastation. I think my dad cried a little as we were all heartbroken with the amount of ruin left where homes, trees, animals were, just months ago, present and thriving. All that was left was quiet and gray.
I'm sure the sadness faded as you watched new life on the mountain form in days out of the devastation!
It's amazing how the earth heals itself!
I’m in awe. We got ash in the form of rain, for quite a while, it would coat the leaves and trees, and we could see the cloud from various eruptions on a clear day, from Mercer Island. But man, you guys really, really got the brunt. We were just spectators. My grandma heard it, however, from just south of us, if you can believe it. Wow, like I said, I’m in awe. Your story is amazing.
I was 20 and I knew this was something most human beings will never see.
I was 23 going to college in Flagstaff, AZ. I'm really happy to have found this film. Thank you.
I was 12, living out in south Salem, Oregon, we received a lot of ash and I remember the sky getting dark, it was crazy!
I was so amazed that the ash traveled that far!
Yep, you sure did.
@@sweetmissypetuniawilson9206you guys got way more than we did, in Seattle. We only got it in the rain, for months. It would coat the trees and leaves, but no where near what those of you, just south of it, experienced. I could see the ash clouds from every eruption, on a clear day, however. That day, was cloudy, as per usual up here, as you well know. I’m a “Missy” too, by the way. I was 9 when it blew. I was in Hungary the day of the beginning of the war in Ukraine, and I saw the exact same phenomena, with ash coating cars, awnings, and even the streets. I couldn’t understand why it felt so familiar until I realized it must be ash coming in the rain, from the bombing - aka - ash. It was so weird. I never saw it again, however. I was there for a few months.
Yep me too.
I was living in Vancouver WA. In 1980. I was 12 yo. I remember before the May 18th eruption there was an earthquake and it made them close school for the rest of the year. On may 18th we were helping a friend move and could see the full ash plume from the freeway. Never forget it. It was such a crazy day.
Thank you so much for sharing your firsthand experience during the Mt. St. Helens eruption in 1980! Moments like these truly leave a lasting impression. We appreciate you sharing your unique perspective and being a part of our community!
You were right in the firing line, weren’t you? Wow. I was on Mercer Island, and we would see ash, when it rained, coating the plants, trees and cars, just a bit. But you guys, wow, you really got it. I was 9.
I was in Vancouver staying a week with my aunt and uncle when it blew I’m 58 now so in 1980 I think I was 15 or 14 or something like that, but I remember all the coming down and we couldn’t see daylight anymore and then I would go to other parts of the town with my uncle and it wouldn’t be as bad and we’re in the same town. It was weird Portland got it as well because that’s where I lived when this went down and I got back to the house and you couldn’t even see the yard. It was so thick in Portland. So I can’t imagine what it would’ve been like anywhere closer
I remember visiting Mt St Helens about 1984 and all these people were talking about how all the animal life and vegetation is never coming back. Went there again 10 years later, animals everywhere, trees etc. Went back two years ago, can't even tell where it happened if you never knew. To think that nature can't handle a volcano.
Nature is amazing. Plants and wildlife have returned to Chernobyl too, though I imagine they're radioactive.
They didn't know what they were talking about. Ash is a fertilizer, after forest fires, assuming enough rain, the forest recovers within a few years. The island in Iceland that blew up turned into a lush and beautiful island within 3 years after just by birds carrying seeds there.
You’re so full of crap
Volcano Ash is the most fertiliser natural place in the world 😂
What i find fascinating is them finding trout a few years later in the lake where all the fish had been killed and no one could trace where they came from!
I watched it erupt from a hilltop viewpoint near Olympia. The prevailing winds blew most of the ash east towards Yakima, but we definitely got a dusting. I collected a bunch of the ash and, as I was doing a ceramics class in high school, used the ash to make a glaze for some of my pots. It came out of the kiln with a deep earthy dark green flecked with black and gray accents. Still one of the better souvenirs of the event.
My uncle lived around their and sent me some of the pumice rock (I think that's what they called it) and I thought that was the coolest thing. And a book that talked about the guy who refused to leave his home and ended up dying. I think their was a song about him or something.
I was living in Lacey off of College but was in Longview that morning. Within minutes I was I-5 North on my motorcycle trying to outrun the ash cloud but it overtook me a couple miles before the Toutle River bridge and traffic just stopped. I said screw this and drove on the shoulder... When I got to the Toutle River it was insane, the shoulder ended at the bridge so it took a bit to get over it and it was scary as Hell...lol. Finally got out of the cloud at Centralia... Hell of a morning...lol
@@kummakummakummakummakummac8606 Yes, Harry Truman. I was in 6th grade, and we all sent him cards. They're all buried under the ash and mud now.
Theres an idea.
Would have love to have some ash from that baby.
Beutifull glaze
This is one of the Better Documentarys of what happened to Mt St Helen's and the areas. R.I.P. to those who lost there lives and livelihoods.
Seems like I watch all old programs like this they are just so much better than the stuff they make to day. Maybe it's a sign I'm getting old 😆 but I think im right more time & effort put into old stuff.
We're thrilled that you enjoyed our documentary! We put a lot of effort into researching and telling the story of the Mount St. Helens eruption, and we're glad that it resonated with you. Thanks for your support of KSPS PBS and for taking the time to leave a comment!
No, it’s a sign the world is literally insane.
I'm watching this 43 years later, 9/5/2023 this is a very interesting and educational video. I was only 4 ½years old when it erupted.
Amazing how nature repairs in ways we can't comprehend.
Very profound. 🇬🇧👍
The human body too
All we have to do is get out of the way, nature will do the rest.
I wasn't born until 1984, but I have lived very close to this mountain for most of my life and still do. I see it every time it's clear outside, all our swimming holes on the Toutle river still have ash Banks and evidence of the mountain all around. I still never get tired of watching videos like this.
Washington is truly a beautiful state. I can see Adams and Rainier on a regular basis which for those who don't know, are also dormant volcanoes.
I watched it happen as a young man in downtown Vancouver, Wa. And it was mind boggling. Mother nature takes no prisoners and needs not apologize for it.i felt very fortunate to be a part of seeing history in the making.RIP to those 53 people who were warned but got too close and suffocated from the ash trying to escape. Ain't nice trying to fool mother nature!
@@richardbrowning8221
There is a spot in Vancouver, WA, at the intersection of SR 500 and SR 503 where you can clearly see the top of Mount St Helens over the businesses.
Not far from there, a block or two south of the intersection of SR 500 and 137th Ave there is a clearing for power line pylons that provides a fantastic view of Mount Hood in Oregon.
i was a few months old when this went up. my mom remembers ash falling at our home in western nebraska
@@richardbrowning8221lip p😅😅oooo
I flew past Mt. St. Helens in 1975 on a flight from Boise to Seattle. She was a beautiful mountain all covered in snow. She had a perfect cone shape like Mt. Fujiyama in Japan. I was awestruck. When it blew I thought, "Darn that was the prettiest mountain, too bad it's gone."
Mt rainier looks much more similar to mt fuji
What a Bodacious Explosion 💥 !
Fuji and St. Helens were often called Sisters because of their shared and almost identical Beauty.
Amazing that its been 40 years ago today. May 18th, 1980 to May 18th, 2020. I never get tired of watching and learning about the eruption. Incredible what the power of nature can do to change a landscape in seconds.
Mack Pines I have the National Geographic edition on the mountain and had brought it to work in 1980. Just about everyone in my office wanted a copy (Portland, Oregon) . National Geographic got a lot of subscribers that year.
pm
and just think, 40 years before that WWII was still going on. I bring this up because I can remember the Mt St. Helens eruption. I never thought I'd be able to say "I remember 40 years ago..." just like the folks that went through WWII.
I'm watching it this day 2022 WOW n it wasn't referred to me I just looked it up
@@Sleazball_😊
1) If this documentary was produced in 2005, maybe an update for 2025 is in order?
2) Feel for those who perished and those who lost everything - I experienced having endured a flood in our large home in Carmel IN, the remediation of the finished walk-out basement and backyard to prevent similar events and then the fire in the same home, whilst our home was vacant and for-sale, during a winter ice storm, whilst we were now living 800 miles away in Dallas, the frustration and sense of helplessness that I experienced, not being able to insulate my wife and kids from that event and not being able to safeguard our investment, actually had me in tears at one point - albeit not on the scale of this or other more recent disasters, I nonetheless can appreciate the shock, fear and helplessness that these events have on the lives of so many…🙏
3) Pretty documentary host and definitely someone who understands the geo, culture and topic - well done
We lived on the west side of the mountain, near Kelso, about 13 miles south of the entrance to the Spirit Lake Highway. We woke the morning of the eruption to an earthquake. We later realized we didn't hear the actual explosion, even though our country home was not far from the mountain...I'd say about fifty miles "as the crow flies". When I went outside, it was "raining" warm mud. Wet ash covered the ground like gray snow...eerily quiet. The cattle and horse seemed bewildered...the only grass visible in our pasture was under a lone fir tree. After providing hay and fresh water for the animals, we made our way to a favorite spot in the hills to the east in our old Datsun pickup (Mom, Dad, our two young boys and a St. Bernard in the small cab). We rounded the hill, passing the point at which we were accustomed to having our first view of the familiar ice cream cone-shaped summit of Mt. St. Helens in all her glory. To our shock and amazement, there was no summit. Not until we climbed a few hundred yards farther could we see what was left of "our mountain". Not yet knowing the extent of the devastation, my husband and I felt an immediate sense of loss of a treasured childhood wilderness-paradise; and at the same time a strange inability to comprehend the gargantuan force of nature that took her from us.
I'm sure words cannot express your feelings. That a life changing event you lived through.
Thanks...history lane for a 75 year old
I was at Mount St. Helen's in the 70's and Spirit Lake was beautiful
We camped in the area in the 70s and I have perfect pictures of the snow covered mountain. I had moved to Manzanita, but kept my house in Grant Park, renting it to friends. I was in town that day and we watched the eruption from the rooftop. It was astounding. After driving back to the beach later that day, we woke up up the next morning to inches of volcanic dust over everything. For years afterward, the kids gathered volcanic rocks from the beach that had washed down the rivers, out to sea and then were deposited on the beaches. We still have some.
I was 31 the year it exploded. It’s 2024 now and this excellent documentary has given me lots of information about the mountain’s eruption and aftermath I probably would never have known otherwise. Thanks for your work! Well done!
@@judithstone-aaen5552 It was stunning, its a shame that we lost so much with it.
What a perfect name for that beautiful lake. I hope you go back some day.
@@pilsplease7561but gained so much, as well. It was a completely natural event, and nature kind of knows what she’s doing.
@@judithstone-aaen5552this story is amazing. Wow. Incredible. Thank you for sharing, this is truly incredible.
I was in Iowa at the time of this. We watched it on the television set. We only had 4 tv channels back in them days.
Really excellent documentary. I was in my senior high school year when Mount St Helen’s erupted. We had ash falling in out east central Alberta town. It made a big impression on me. God bless all of those poor souls that perished in the eruption.
I wasn't born until 1985 after Mt St Helens erupted.
Anyone living or at Spirit lake was gone within mins…the heat plus ash and such. I can’t imagine
God bless each and everyone of the rescuers! What brave people. I hope the kindness has been returned ten fold in their lives! ❤️❤️❤️❤️
I remember the event well. Watching the news reports, marveling at the sheer power unleashed, and praying for those caught in the cataclysm. Then one or two days later the effects of the eruption became evident half a continent away here in Kansas. A strange other worldly orange sky as the ash cloud dispersed around the globe. The power of nature is awesome. To be both held in awe, and respect.
Same here.
Lovely comment. I was 9, living on an Island near Seattle.
May 5th 2020 and I just watched this video.. I lived in Vancouver that year after graduating from Hudsons Bay HS in 79.. My dad and I sat on our roof in Hazel Dell and took many pictures the saturday before it blew. But what I wanted to share was, the Feb. before that Sunday in May, a group of us went backpacking up St Helens to a small lake.(don't know if it even had a name), and spent a couple days fishing. We were catching some of the largest trout we had ever seen. After the first eruptions we figured it out that the very old and very large fish were coming up to the colder water.
I was actually in church when it blew, but watched from the parking lot there at Vancouver 1st church on Main St. next to the Safeway. We collected some ash but the front all went to the north and east.
Thanks for letting me share
Thanks for sharing your story and perspective, quite interesting! Examining history can sometimes be painful but nevertheless important to relive at times. I was 22 on that day and living in Va. and could only relate to daily newspaper posts, God bless! S. Carolina
Thanks for sharing Lloyd
were you going to cougarlake?
im in vancouver and its no more vancouver..its like portland now..here...
I was sitting on the dock with my bare feet in the water, in a little town called Boardman, on the Columbia river, with a really nice looking girl named Tammy. The temperature was about 80 degrees f. I thought it was kind of odd because it was so dark and cloudy over in Washington. Later on that day I learned the mountain had erupted. The very next day I was standing on the Cowlitz River bridge in kelso Washington watching the log jammed mud flowing down towards the Columbia river. Lots of debris and vehicles were in that mud flow. What an amazing and sad sight that was.
That was me 😮😅😮😅❤❤❤🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
❤❤❤❤
@@tammybarrett7650 are you the Tammy that I was sitting on the dock with? Smith or was it west?
@@tammybarrett7650 your still alive? Thank God! That was a long time ago. Who would have thought that after all these years we would make some sort of contact? I guess you must be married. You have been in my thoughts all this time. I don't know what's wrong with me. I should have held on to you as long as I could. Oh well. I hope you've had a good life. Whoever married you is one lucky man, I would think.
@@tammybarrett7650 some kind of reply anything at all would be nice.
I was camping at the bottom when it blew!!!!!!!never forget it
Sheila, tell us more. please.
Glad you're here to remember.
How did you survive? What happened?
Uh huh
Devastating but the comeback is remarkable. Well done piece.
I was living in Japan when my Dad sent me a polaroid shot of the dark ash cloud heading in the direction of Thorp, WA where our farm was. This was an excellent documentary. Very well done
in all aspects of a very important event in Washington State's natural history.
Did you get to see sakurajima?, what a beautiful scene the pictures from the lakeare
Great storytelling. I liked the voice of the female narrator. The Mount Saint Helens eruption has fascinated me ever since I knew about it. From the Philippines
You got taal, what a amazing area up on the cliff in tagaytay, looking down on volcano island, that was my honeymoon 3/23
When Mt. St. Helens exploded, I was stationed at Ellsworth AFB, SD (Strategic Air Command (SAC)). The base sent all the bombers and tankers to other SAC bases out of harms way...It was amazing watching all those planes take off....NATURE WILL ALWAYS WIN.....
We are fleas, a nuisance, to be easily disposed of.
George Carlin
I was stationed there too. Except for Sturgess and Mt. Rushmore, that is one boring place.
About how many planes? Are bombers and tankers both planes?
@@lisamariemary We had B-52 bombers and KC-135 air-refueling planes: a bomber would take off followed by a KC-135 - it was known as a "minimum interval -take off"...around 20 combined - might have been more or less....
@@garydavis5703 Thank you so much for telling me about it, I appreciate that. Must've really been something to see.
May 18. 1990. Stationed at Ft Lewis took my 5 month old baby, Jon and other kids yo the Toutle River. All the trees were down. Houses were inundated with mud.
I love the segment about reforestation, both the natural and the manmade.
Kudos to to Alison Kartevold. A fine documentary. And, a perfect example of how the quality of information and the consumable but not flamboyant way it is relayed to the viewer by public broadcasting is far and away better than commercial television.
Nature at it(s) most powerful-and in no big rush to share it(s) plans!
MoaSize, yes, I second your assessment, bloody good quality documentary! So much better than many commercial, quickly produced, so called documentaries.
This type of documentary is far better than the sensationalist, dramatic garbage that in this subject instill more fears than the scientists who make their comments in these documentaries would want to.
I have watched a few documentaries regarding Mt St Helens. This is my favorite. Well done. This is a gem.
Mine too, and I was 90 miles north of the event on that date, and ready to help my brother celebrate his 38th birthdate anniversary.
That's the miracle of PBS! They *never* cease to make excellent content!
This truly is a realy good made documentarie,I was amazed by the intelligenze and knowledge of all those spezialists,mark this one or make a copy,those kinda great material is really hard 2 find online.
I think I might like the Minute by Minute doc by A&E better from back when they used to actually make real docs rather than just reality tv
Tho this does go deep into the after effects of and life after the eruption that others don’t
@@billofjazz i live up north
It was a gorgeous day. I was fishing in a raft on a Cascade High Lake 150 miles South and heard the explosion but didn’t know what it was until I got home a couple days later. The sound travelled down the Cascade range. My Dad was a professor of Volcanology in Eugene and it was the highlight of his career. We hardly saw him for days. Some of his graduate students were near the mountain helping with research.
Glad he made it out okay. I'm sure it was an interesting time for volcanologists, but somewhat scary for their families
I was wondering if there was an audio explosion. Apparently the sound waves flew over the blast zone but they could hear it in Seattle and Portland.
k
@@jongilchrist7229 I thought you said Poland for a sec🤣
You’re lying. Your dad worked at the gas station
I was there on 5-18-80 . One thing they never tell you is that the entire ash cloud lit up with flashes , as the gasses exploded within , bringing the cloud to a HUGE lightening show ! I remember Harry Truman as he was interviewed .
Any of you posting realize Mt Novarupta here in Alaska blew in 1912, largest volcanic eruption ever recorded in history, approximately 9 times stronger then st Helen’s and changed the worlds weather approx for a year?😳
@@TroyOttosen-jg7tt That was a huge eruption, imagine being anywhere near at that time. However, Mnt Tambora in 1815 and Krakatoa in 1883 are more powerful recorded eruptions. Unrecorded are so much bigger it's insane. Yellowstone literally has removed mountain ranges from the face of the earth - Super crazy. look at a map of the US and you can see the path of the yellowstone hotspot caldera through the cascades and rockies as the North american continent has moved over it.
@@hisgross I live in Alaska now, just a fact, Mt Novarupta here in Alaska blew up in 1912 at Katmai nt park area it is the largest eruption ever recorded in earth! Look that up!😳😳😳
Whaf? How do we follow your bad English?
How about your BAD SPELLING!@@ceciliazderic214 You are just one who loves to complain !!
"I pay my taxes!" Say no more, we'll tell the mountain not to blow.
😂lol
What she meant was we are adults and we don’t need the government making choices for us…. My land my choice.. they want to stay. Tyrants have no right to stop them from getting killed their own way.
🤣
Boomers gonna boomer.
I'm sure the government was using those tax dollars in very relevant areas and very responsibly. 🙄
I was 10 years old and I lived in Medical Lake, Wa. Which I'd 15 min outside of Spokane. Wa. And 200 miles from Mt. St. Helen's. I was outside playing with my grandmother's dog. It was a gorgeous Sunday and about 12pm I watched the ash cloud roll in and it went from day light to midnight black. I will never forget going to the Tuttle River after the eruption with my other grandmother and what was left of the river was indescribable.
I was 10 also and remember watching it on the news in California
I was in Lewiston ID, day became night and the temp went up 15 degrees. 2 inches of glass fiber ash.
@Mike Ray drugs are bad ummm k
I was 9 and lived on Mcchord AFB at the time. we didn't get nearly as much as as eastern Washington did.
To those who have witnessed this event, you have seen one of earths many beautiful spectacles. Helen woke from her slumber and she was angry. I may have not seen Helen blow her temper but I have witnessed a tragic event as it unfolded in 2001. I only have to reach into my mental filing cabinet and pull out the folder that hold the images, sounds of that fateful day. RIP to those who have perished in both events.
I was 5 when it went. Although I was 100 miles away and not fully understanding what was happening, after it blew I was able to go in my yard and collect Ash that fell. I still Have that jar of ash. Then in my late 20's (2004) we were certain she would blow AGAIN. She burped a few times and fell back to sleep. I am 49 now, I still feel before my life is over, she will blow again. If so, I will witness something more than once in my life that most people will never see EVER.
P.N.W. is so beautiful, which is why i will never leave, but we have some beasts of mountains here.
I actually have a old pill bottle full of the volcanic ash. Its super fine, no chunks at all in it. The previous owner of the house was there when the ash was falling. He collected a few containers and left us one. It has tape on it with The words "St.Helens,Washington Volcanic Ash May 18th 1980, Clyde S. Brown"
Kevin Johnson You've got a relic and a reminder.
I still have some too, in an old cough syrup bottle. It is fine like baby powder. My grandmother lived in Wenatchee and we would visit her every year. We visited Rocky Reach Dam the following year and they had ash trays in their gift shop, supposed to made of ash, that looked like a volcano. You put your cigarette in the ash tray and the smoke would come through the top of the volcano.
I had dated a boy and inside his mustang there was ash behind all his gauges
Looking great for 40.
Harry didn’t think there was “nothing” to fear, he actually accepted the risk, and went down with the ship, as he stated. Good for him for fighting for his right to his land and to die, if necessary, as he lived. I was 9 at the time, and I remember all of it. We could see the eruptions from Mercer Island, in the form of an ash cloud when the sky was clear. I took photos with this cool old camera my grandfather used to own. Unfortunately the day it blew for the last time, it was, of course, cloudy. My Grandma heard it blow, just south of us, if you can believe it. 8:00 am, May 18th, 1980. But it was fascinating to grow up following every tremor, earthquake, the growth of the lava dome, and praying for anyone on that day, who may have been in the path. It was an amazing thing to experience. I had a cool poster of the major eruption on my wall for years.
I took a natural disaster class from this guy's graduate professor. Nobody expected this. Best class I've ever taken. I know to read USGS reports before buying a house now.
May 18th 1980 I was 18...in The military in Germany...I remember hearing about it.
I was born in Portland and grew up in the surrounding areas. My mother used to point out Mt St Helens and referred to it as "The Snow Cone Mountain" because, with its rounded top, it looked similar to an ice cream cone....and I vividly recall what it used to look like. In the 50's, we moved to CA, but when it blew in 1980, shortly thereafter my wife and I rode a motorcycle to have a view. Police barriers would only let us get so close, for it was still belching steam. I bought a one gallon container, scraped up some ash, (which was everywhere) and transported it back home. For years I looked at it and then finally dumped it on my garden. Did I notice any difference? Why, yes, since you asked....tomatoes the size of my feet with a similar shape!
An amazing event! I wasn't there, but it is forever etched in my memory. RIP Harry!
Glad you weren't mountain man. Cheers to the next adventure
I lived in Washington for a while and visits the mountain many times. This website was very very interesting and I learned more info than I had known from the past. Thank you so much. Miss Washington so very much.
Thank you for this video
I was in Vancouver on May 18th 1980 driving north at 8:30 am and saw the eruption; It was awe inspiring. 10 years later I was up on the north side with a local Boy Scout troop planting seedlings. In the early 1960s i worked at a Church Youth camp on Spirit Lake and have many pleasant memories of hiking to Leta Lake, timberline on St. Helens. I am pleased to see the rebirth of the forest.
I was 23 and lived in Portland. I was on the roof of our apartment and watched in awe. She became “my mountain” and I have witnessed every eruption since. I love that mountain.
Me too, I live in Portland also, I was 20
From Portland you could see the explosion??? Holy cow:…
Totally get it. I live in the Alps and I love them. ❤🏔🌋
Still feels so recent. Knowing how long it's been makes me feel a tad old. We had been married 2 years when this happened. Amazing.
THANKS FOR THIS VIDEO MOTHER NATURE HAS NO RULES
So interesting to watch this after all these years.
I was up there about 3 months after the blast. I ran a backhoe in the red zone. I was digging out roads ditches, looking for cars, bodies Nd what ever I dug up. I found a lot of vehicles thank God only one body. I did not sleep for a month after that one. We stayed at yale Washington and it was a 2 hr drive up there every day work 12 he's and a 2 he drive home every day. 7 days a week. We got 29 a hr from 0 to 40 hrs. 40 to 60 was time and half. 60 to 80 was double time and 80 to 100 was triple time and everything over 100 was 5 times. I made really good money in 1980. The only time we got time off was they had probes stuck all over the mountain and any time it hickuped of rumpled they send a helo out of Vancouver and send us home. If it happen at 8 in the morning we got sent home for the rest of the day with pay. I was there working for about 1 1/2 would still be there but job ran out( federal government job) best paying job I ever had. Only thing is the amount of rain it rained there. 120 inch a year on average. People there dont tan they rust.
Amazing story.
Great story loved the 80es early 90es then things seem to have gone down hill since so sad how the world is now are countries are completely different remember on the mainstream media when it was ok my god how brave people were
How deep was the ash on the roads?
Thank you for what you did.
@@cherylthrasher2296 shut up
A+ documentary, very well done; one of the best information rich science documentaries I've seen. Mt. Saint Helen's is a beautiful mountain and amazing how she literally rose from the ashes and created such amazing natural features. Plus, she is a living breathing science laboratory and she's very talkative, from a nature point-of-view.
On The day of the big eruption, 5/18/80, I had a massive car wreck that put me in the hospital for 8 days. Much of that time was spent watching the drama of the eruption unfold in real time. I've always felt connected to that mountain! I enjoyed this
Very interesting. Thank you.
Thank you for watching!
Good documentary
Those first assistance army hospital tents also took care of some injured BFs on this occasion.... Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for watching our video!
It's always fascinating to learn more about historical events like the eruption of Mount St. Helens, and the role that various groups played in responding to the disaster.
Thanks again for watching and for your support!
Best regards,
The KSPS PBS team
Yep!!
I just totally loved this video. I can't thank KSPS enough for this incredible PSA re: volcanoes and St. Helens in particular. Well done.
Today is May 18, 2020. It's been 40 years since the eruption. I watched it with my neighbors in the Kent valley. It's still the most bizarre thing I've ever seen. A very sad day for those who lost their lives....
Was very young in Spokane. Left that hole years ago, but deeply miss the nature of the PNW. I return frequently
Mastashake oof Spokane is Rough! West side of Washington is best side
@@thebeasters I left the 42% annual sunshine near Seattle for 83%+ in the desert SW nearly 20 years ago.
@@Spuggybear All the western WA transplants I've met here in the SW all left because of the spring of 1999 when we had 93 straight days of rain. We didn't see more than 2 days of sunshine in a row until the summer of 2000.
Feeber Izer to each their own 🤷♂️ the cloudy weather is one of the biggest highlights for me personally, I think everyone that lives here should take vitamin D daily though.
5.30pm 12/11/2023...I remember that year well as I remember we didn't have much sunshine that year living in Southern Michigan I was surprised.
Thank you. I so enjoyed that.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Harry Truman was definitely a unique old fellow, but there is one part of his story that upsets me, particularly: taking the risk of staying put would have been okay, if it had only affected him personally. However, all those poor cats who were his pets had no choice. They died with him, because of him. It's always them that I have felt the most sorry for in his part of this tragedy.
👍.... empathy
Those were libertarian cats
@@ajbianchi85😂😂😂 I am known as the crazy cat lady who feeds and takes care of all the stray cats in my area so you would think I wouldn’t have found this funny but you made me laugh.
@ajbianchi85 even cats are tired of your generation and it’s overeager attempts to virtue signal
@butterbeanqueen8148 no humans would find that lazy AI generated “joke” funny.
I was 10 years old when Mt St Helen's eruption. I'm 49 now, its been almost 40 years ago. My family and I were living in Olympia Washington. Cars stopped working, I remember we had to cover our mouths. It was terrible. Everything covered in ash. Very eerie feeling I had back then.
I actually own some of that ash in a pill bottle that the old owner of my house bottled. He was actually at St.Helens when it blew. He told the story perfectly.
I can also see how it would be harmful. The ash is very fine so it could be inhaled very easily
@@kevinjohnson7300 And then turns to concrete in the lungs. Ouch.
@@lhaviland8602 my daughter told me that's called pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.
@@2ManyGoats yep
Nice production. I enjoyed it immensely. Thanks for making it and showing it here.
I totally agree with you on that count.
I was five years old when she erupted in 1980. We were camping somewhere in the North Cascade Mountains. All I remember is my daddy packing us up quickly and I-90 was closed and we had to drive home the long way.
I was 9 years old, living in northern WA. I had spent the night with a friend, and was awake, waiting for my friend to wake up. Mt. St. Helens blew, my friend jolted awake and asked, "What was that?!" We heard it over 300 miles away. Soon after, everything was covered in ash - every last thing. The sky, the ground, and every single thing around was gray Cars, roofs, yards, streets, sidewalks - it was like someone took a paint brush and just grayed everything out. My dad scooped up vials of ash from our own backyard and put them in our memory boxes. It lasted for about 2 weeks - seemed like it would never be normal again. I remember watching Harry R Truman on tv defying the evacuation order before the volcano blew. He wasn't afraid, he simply didn't want to leave his home.
It's incredible how nature responds after a devastating disaster such as this eruption of Mount St Helens. Recovery is a miracle that the earth can survive. Yes somethings will die, but! many things will recover and it takes time.
We enjoyed that. From WI living in Japan. Home during the corona virus outbreak
A fine example of what television programmes should be like! 👍🏻👍🏻
I was only 8 but lived in Raineer when it erupted. We could watch it blowing and there was ash everywhere. My mom collected some
A fascinating documentary hosted by a beautiful lady!
Thanks for watching!
WOW! Really well done. Thank you for sharing.
Great documentary. The last one I watched didnt say anything about the animals so I respect them for giving numbers and time to discuss wildfire coming back.
Blew up on my birthday turned 17 and was in boot camp!
Talk about omens.
I was an undergraduate student from California at WAzzu. I will never forget this moment in time. ❤
I was living in Kent, Washington when it erupted.
I am very excited to go visit this area this summer. My uncle was working there and sent us a little baggie of volcano ash. I was about 12. When I visited Mt Etna 35 years later and it was erupting rock that was like instant coffee, I swept some up and sent it to him. He’s gone now but he definitely fed my sense of humor, and my sense of curiosity. RIP Uncle Wayne.
Thanks for sharing your story with us! We're glad that our documentary on Mount St. Helens could bring back some memories of your uncle and his connection to the area. We hope that your upcoming visit is full of new discoveries!
This is a very good video, I was most impressed with those fish from the lake as well as the images shown.
I don't think Harry thought there was nothing to fear at all, I think he was willing to become part of the universe once again on his terms, which if that included the eruption, so be it. Definitely admire his logic and emotional perception.
Go Harry!
In the UK we had thick sandy ash on our cars about a week later.
I was living in Portland at the time and remember it vividly. Able to see it was awesome
The most interesting takeaway form this documentary is how quickly and efficiently nature repairs itself.
Everyone always underestimates nature. Over and over.
@@jovetj Indeed So in other words Nature warns us all not to do that. Funny enough younger children have been known to be more in tune with nature than older people. In other words nature is the greatest teature to young kids of the younger generation and in time is slowly starting to teach us all.
Mother nature laughs at humans...I do too.
The problem is not nature.
Despite what liberals tell us
Great documentary! It's an insightful look into one of the largest geological events in modern US history. It makes me think of the events surrounding Pompeii. Interesting aspect of how Weyhauser did a tremendous amount of work to help rehab the area. I cant imagine being one of the 100s of workers trying to recover their trees in the days immediately after the eruption. I didn't experience Mt. St. Helens 1st hand. I was about 10 years old when it happened. But living on the east coast I remember vividly the news coverage of the eruption. It's great to see how the area has transformed & recovered even as this is an older documentary.
Thanks for watching!
Thank you all for the best reporting and photography of this wonderful mountain's history. I have some ashes m
Edith Maring Willey sent ashes to me from the mountain. I'm in Texas. She is my Nana. We all thought Mt.Baker or Rainer would be going off first. Helens was a surprise to us. Went to Washington every summer. Mt.Rainer is my favorite mountain there and Edith Creek was named after my Nana. She was a fine local artist. She 😢always told me that if you don't paint the glaciers perfectly, then people will not buy your work. Her ashes were placed at her creek next to a Heather bush. She wanted to be with her mountain. Me, too. I'm 70 on 1-31-2024 still in Texas. Hope to get home someday. My daughter and her husband have gotten back there first. I get wonderful pictures from her often. Thank you again for y'all's beautiful work. Keep On Keeping On
@@randallacord1550 Thank you for your comment. HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you🥳🌹🥳🌹
Fantastic video! While I was a very young man, I'm still old enough to barely remember the events that happened this date!
A volcano erupted.
Welcome to being old. Lol
@@allaboutroofing2 🤣
This was fantastic to see the recovery, as well as all the new information. Thank you!
I lived in Calgary Alberta Canada and we had ash on our cars from Mt.St Helen's.
Another KSPS gem. Thank you for uploading this.
This was amazing to see. I haved lived in the Pacific Northwest all my life and I will never forget seeing on the news and dealing with all the ash. I cannot wait to visit Johnston Ridge observatory
Ya left the shithole Spokane 3 years ago, but the beauty of the PNW is unparalleled
I was a young father in May 1980, living in Wilsonville,Oregon.
I remember the events leading up to the eruption.
I recall a young female Portland news reporter, prior to the eruption, asking a geologist "what do you believe will happen to the mountain"
The geologist apparently bewilder by such a stupid question said [very profoundly] "well...the mountain is either going to stay the same,get worse, or get better".
I remember she was very impressed by the supreme wisdom of the silly answer. Lol.
I happened to be driving down I-5 when it erupted.
I saw it in my rear view mirror and pulled over on the freeway to watch it broil over the Toutle River
One of my customers was Weyerhaeuser, who owned much of the land surrounding Mt.St.Helens.
I got to drive up the road to Camp Baker, with Weyerhaeuser employees sometime after the event.
Seeing logging equipment, cars, houses,etc covered with the gray volcanic ash.
The ash is a fantastic possolan for making high strength concrete.
This ash is one of the reasons Roman buildings are still standing 2000 years old, as Roman cement gets stronger by the centuries ,instead of modern Portland cement ,which is only good for 50 years or so.
I was amazed at the resilience of the flora and fauna and how quickly nature came back, much to the chagrin of the local environmentalists, who declared "it would take a hundred years for animals and plants to restore the landscape".
Within a year or two plants and animals returned ,slowly at first.
We were 83 miles away in Wilsonville, and we had to remove volcanic ash from our roof.
I learned recently that the Grand Coulee Dam was made with ash in it to make it stronger.... a site with 30 feet of ash was where that ash was quarried from... and that ash was from a super volcano that went up in Idaho... got the details from one of the Nick Zentner livestreams... a CWU geology professor teaching the public from home via RUclips...
@@lethaleefox6017 Thanks for the update.
That's good to know.
I used volcanic ash in developing ultra high strength concrete.
It is extremely hard.
Roman concrete grew in hardness as we know, over centuries, but it took sometimes a year to fully cure.
The Romans it appears, took a longer view of building construction.
Modern Portland cement cures in days or weeks, but is good for maybe 50 to 100 years at best.
@Nyree Harris Possibly in retrospect, you may be correct, by affording the reporter the benefit of the doubt, as she was required to ask obvious questions.
But as I watched the endless parade of geologists talking with news people for many weeks during that time, leading up to the eruption, it was still a comic sideshow of experts postulating what could, would or should happen if the mountain blew, in front of a camera, never to be repeated again.
The reporters contributed to the absurdity of asking innumerable questions to the geologist.
In the end, as with most great natural events, my point was, nobody had a clue as to whether the mountain would return to low activity, remain static, or massively erupt.
It was therefore a huge opportunity for the geologists and the reporters.
Not so much for people who lost their lives,and people in the forest products industries.
Volcano Ash is the best fertiliser ever
I flew over St. Helens the Sunday before it blew from a meeting in Anchorage… Grew up in the GNW… then we left for Atlanta Georgia… eventually landed in Orlando Florida. My Children have flown by helicopter into the Mt. St. Helens crater… flown over the devastation of the eruption… but still do not have concept of what took place on that Sunday…. This Preso will help!❤️
On That Sunday, I was sitting in bed, drinking coffee and reading the newspaper when my two children excitedly ran inside to tell me that
Mt. St. Helens was erupting. There had already been many steam eruptions and two small ash eruptions that necessitated clean-up, no easy task. As. I had not heard a thing, I thought that one of those was what the kids had seen but I was dead wrong. From my bedroom window the peak of the mountain was hidden but that day I didn’t need to see it. An immensely huge roiling column of black and dark purple ash rising from it and reaching incredibly high into the sky was awe inspiring and frightening. I had loved St. Helens the first time I saw it years earlier. It was a gorgeous mountain known as the Fujiyama of the West but locally and lovingly called The Lady. The views on a drive up the mountain in winter felt as though we were moving through various paintings such as might be seen on Christmas cards. One of my first thoughts that day was a question-what is going on under my feet right now? When the excitement finally died down and life began to go back to normal, I felt bereaved. For so long I had watched and visited Mt. St. Helens in all seasons. For me, she was a presence, always there and only rarely without a gleaming white cap of snow. Early winter was special as the mountain slowly lost her snow coat, the weather changed, the rains came, dripping gray skies, lingered for weeks. We waited
I was in mossyrock, 8 years old. My great aunt and uncle’s living room had a picture window looking at mt St. Helens. It was incredible to watch. We went back home to Seattle. We never had complete darkness as the ash went mostly East, but it sure looked like it snowed. We dealt with ash a long time. We laughed when people sold it, as there were PILES of it on the side of every road. Sadness around David Johnston and Harry Truman were felt by everyone.
OK that is officially AWE INSPIRING. Nature in all its awesome majesty healing one of her scars. Just beautiful.
I was 11 years old in West Michigan in the late spring of 1980. I remember seeing some of the ash cloud floating in the sky, almost 2,000 mils away. Interesting times.
Ok
I was 6 and living in Montana. It looked like a dirty snowstorm had hit our town. I still have ash from the eruption.
@@jackycook64 it's ok
Thoroughly enjoyed watching this detailed article. Wonderful. Thankyou.
incredible great vid thanks ...peace out
I was 6yrs old and living in the mountains of southwest Virginia. I remember that summer as being cold and remember the ash covering our cars.
40 years ago on this very day. Gods speed to those who died
RIP
Smokey ! Smokey Bear ! King of the Wild Frontier !
I am looking forward to its next eruption, I just hope it gives us some warning to get all the tourists and researchers to safety first.
@@orlandotouristtraps7410 Did you not pay attention? They tried to keep tourists and such out, it doesn't work, because humans are STUPID AS HELL and were more likely to go see the mountain go boom.
I was sitting in a parking lot in Portland OR with my friend. Actually it was Beaverton, but it had just gotten dark and we could see something in the sky walking back to the house. We walked in and my friends mom said, St Helens just blew! It looked like a rocket or something had taken off or something from our view. I was 16 yrs old. Then the tragedy unfolded each day after. I'm 55 now, and worried about America in general!!
Crazy how something man made can be worse than what nature has thrown at us.
I was living in Toppenish which is 85 mile from the mountain. At 8:32am when it blew it woke me up, I looked
Out the front door, didn't see any storm clouds, bc I thought it was either thunder or the Army shooting
Off Artillery at the Yakima firing Range. Went back to sleep,went to
Breakfast, at around 11:30 to the west
You seen the ash cloud and at around
12:00pm it went to 12am. The air was
Filled with ash, to the point that it hurt just to breathe. Went inside and
That's when found out what happened
Good . thanks for the memories