40 years ago: A look back at a natural disaster in the making

Small earthquakes began on March 15, 1980. The first headlines a week later came when an earthquake measuring 4.1 on the Richter scale was recorded on Mount St Helens on March 20. On March 27, the mountain started wandering with steam, and instructed scientists by observing the volcanoes of the Cascade Mountains, I knew something was being prepared.

This spring, Spokane historian and co-reviewer Jim Kirchner summarized developments on Mount St. Helens on Sunday in the history column. Here we tied them all together, giving readers an overview of the birth of an eruption.

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The headline in the Spokane Daily Chronicle on March 22, 1980 was not very worrying: “The St Helens mountain area is troubled.”

An earthquake measuring 4.1 on the Richter scale shook the volcano, which appeared to be inactive, but officials played down the importance of that, noting that there were no reports of damage and “earthquakes are common in that region”.

However, tremors continued for the next few days. On March 24, Chronicle published a headline, asking: “Mount St. Helens to advertise?” A seismologist at Washington University answered this question “perhaps.”

“There has been an increase in the number of earthquakes near the mountain, and this is what one would expect if it would explode,” the seismologist said. “But that does not mean that she will. You will not know for sure until you do that, if you do that.”

The Spokesman-Review published a comic title on March 27, 1980 – “Skiing is Good? – Lava-Lee!” – citing a ski tongue report in his cheek saying mountain skiing is “too hot” and skiers should “wear asbestos”. (There was no mountain ski resort.)

Laughter disappeared later that day when Mount St. Helens began to argue. The Spokesman-Review published the first page story on March 28 by reporter Robert Rose. His main punishment became legendary in the local press circles.

“Mount St. Helens, a 123-year-old belly lady, who erupted with a huge volcanic burping on Thursday, heard a sound like a sonic boom 45 miles away.”

This definitely caught everyone’s attention. The rest of the story seemed some sinister remarks.

“There was no sign of molten lava, but the eruption was detected by scientists who were concerned that heat and tremor movement could lead to mudslides and floods that could endanger three nearby dams and the entire valley,” she wrote.

The Spokesman-Review sent a photographer and reporter to rotate the mountain in Cessna, and a whole interior page was dedicated to news of Mount St. Helens. In societies near the mountain, people “slept with one eye open”. Dixie State Governor Lee Ray embarked on an air search and declared it “very exciting”. A Spokane preacher described him as “revealing God’s will.”

Washington State Governor Dixie Lee Ray was overwhelmed by journalists after they made a trip with the National Guard due to the devastation caused by the St. Helens mountain explosion on May 18, 1980. (Christopher Anderson / review spokesman)

On March 29, 1980, a front-page image from The Spokesman-Review showed the virgin white cone of Mount St. Helen – and columns of steam and ash emerge from the top.

The accompanying story indicated that the new explosions were producing gases, steam and ash clouds that rose to 17,000 feet. Pieces of rock, torn from the old volcano’s opening, “exploded 100 to 200 feet in the air.”

This was alarming, but it also seemed to be “exciting.”

“This is the first real volcanic activity in the Cascade chain that can be studied with modern devices, so I think everyone is really excited about what’s going on,” said the state governor.

She also said, “We have to bear in mind that there is a potential for significant damage.”

The next day, The Spokesman-Review tried to reassure Spokane residents by noticing what was clearly painful: Mount Spokane is not a volcano!

One of the scientists said that the opportunities for volcanic activity on Mount Spokane were “the postal code and next to the postal code.” This other mountain was 240 miles away!

The next day Mount St. Helens rained some ash in Portland, but there was nothing on Spokane because there was no southwesterly wind. The next day, Mount St. Helens had fewer eruptions – but more.

By April 3, the mountain exhibited its most disturbing sign to date – a coordinated tremor, indicating that molten magma was moving up the volcano. The headline “Review Spokesman” was “The mountain goes wild!” Scientists are now warning of a possible massive explosion.

On April 4, the Governor of Rye declared a state of emergency in the area surrounding the volcano. The newspaper published a story warning people not to stay in their homes if there was heavy ash fall.

On April 5, 1980, the front page of The Spokesman-Review published the headline: “She’s shaking and baking.”

“With the most powerful seismic signs to date,” wrote journalist John Kaventzis, with many strong earthquakes and consensual tremors, appears on Mount St. Helens.

The mountain was even throwing “ice bombs” – frozen projectiles up to 20 feet long.

Cavents, stationed near Vancouver, reported the next day that the mountain had somewhat calmed down.

Washington state patrol forces were having trouble keeping spectators away from the mountain. About 60 National Guard soldiers were called in to relieve soldiers at roadblocks.

Some good news: the Denki cat, who streaked the spruce when the mountain first jumped, was rescued eight days later by a forest climbing trees.

On April 8, 1980, the newspaper reported that the mountain was still “moving away like an inactive car”. On April 9, scientists expressed the hope that the chances of a massive eruption would decrease.

The volcano dominated the news for weeks, but now it has moved from the first page.

It is strange that some people were disappointed. The Spokesman-Review ran an Oregonian guest editorial expressing “The Secret Hope Mount St. Helen Will Offer In A Good Show … A respectable eruption that will make the world admire one of the youngest volcanic sisters.”

This sounds surprisingly misleading in the past, but the Origins have admitted that it was not in favor of “the fundamental collapse of China’s syndrome.”

St. Helens fell to page 22 of The Spokesman-Review on April 12, 1980, after weeks of dominating the first page.

This reflected diminished activity – or at least what appeared to be diminishing. Scientists have observed only a few minor explosions and “slight” earthquakes, not harmonic tremors.

There was a false sense of safety in construction. The next day, he wrote the headline, “Volcano Display Draws Crowd.”

Tourists flocked to St. Helens on the first clear day of spring break since Mount St. Helens began acting in March.

The Associated Press reported that “volcanic observers gathered at viewing points along Highway 5”.

A number of people chartered small planes at Kelso Airport in Washington to get closer.

This reached its climax on April 14, when the Associated Press reported that mountain climbers were seen “cutting their way to the summit of 9,677 feet.” Many other climbers have also been seen on the mountain. Two television news helicopters have already landed on top of the mountain.

This was clearly dangerous – not just later. The next day the newspaper indicated that people who enter the region violate federal law and can be tried.

However, the mountain remained relatively calm until April 18, which led people to believe that the worst was over. A grocery store in Toutle, Washington, was already selling shirts reading “Survivor – Eruption Mount St. Helens 1980.”

Mount St. Helens was relatively quiet for a week, but on April 19, 1980, scientists issued a warning.

They observed “large amounts of vibration and landslide caused by local earthquakes”. They also saw evidence that the heat caused the ice and snow to melt faster than usual.

They announced that they were placing additional monitors on the northern side of the mountain “to assess the threat it posed to Spirit Lake and the drainage of the North Total River.”

On April 23, a government scientist said that “sharp and consecutive earthquakes and repeated explosions” should be a sign for owners of the region’s cabins “to leave the precarious summit.” The owner of the residence at Spirit Lake Resort, Harry Truman, stubbornly refuses to evacuate.

Some people were caring for the vow. The Puyallup tribe leader said he had moved his family away from the Puyallup-Tacoma region to Spokane. The reason: “You ignore the visions on your account. Speak the mountain.”

However, most people still consider the mountain an entertaining side event. On April 24, co-author Georgy Ann Geier wrote that she was on a commercial flight outside Sea-Tac Airport, when the pilot announced that he was avoiding Mount St Helens as a precaution. Passenger reaction? They were truly disappointed.

On April 25, 1980, The Spokesman-Review reported a worrying development. There was a bulge on the northern side of the crater of the mountain growing. It was now 250 feet high. Scientists were concerned that it might cause a landslide, could reach the northern thorn of the Toutle River and possibly raise the level of the Spirit Lake.

In fact, this bulge was a sign of something far more disastrous.

Mount St. Helens still vibrates on April 26, 1980, but scientists had no idea what it would portend.

“The Earth’s inclination is recorded, but it does not conclusively show that the volcano is either expanding or shrinking,” the Associated Press reported.

Meanwhile, Harry Truman (unrelated to the former president) has become an international celebrity for refusing to evacuate from Spirit Lake Inn at the base of the mountain. He was repeatedly warned that he was in danger, but the most he agreed to do was move his bed to the basement “due to almost constant vibration.”

Now, people all over the world have been writing to him with words of support. He even received three proposals for marriage.

“Everyone wants a piece of old Truman now,” said Harry, who admitted to being over 80 years old.

He particularly liked letters written by children, although many urged him to leave. One of the messages read: “Only one person (in our class) thinks you should stay, but he is strange anyway.”

By April 29, 1980, scientists were concerned about a possible major avalanche, caused by a disturbing bulge on the northern side of the summit. It can break apart pieces of ice, snow, and rocks.

The next day, scientists warned that this increased swelling may be a harbinger of something more destructive. This could mean that “molten rock rises across the mountain en route to a lava volcanic eruption.”

By May 2, the mountain’s twists had become so disturbing that the ruler of Ray ordered everyone except scientists and law enforcement officers to get out of a 5-mile radius around the mountain.

However, Truman remained in position.

It was a bulge near the top of Mount St. Helens on May 3, 1980, and scientists were unsure of what to do. The most worrying explanation was that “pressure of molten rock builds up inside the volcano.”

Even if this is not the case, swelling may result in a landslide or an ice rink, which can reach Lake Spirit or the northern thorn of the Tuttle River.

The next day, the swelling became larger. The Goat Rock area on the mountain moved about 10 feet.

By May 7, scientists were certain that the swelling was caused by molten rock moving from deep beneath the mountain. They also grew increasingly concerned that the collapse would collapse and cause massive mud flow. However, they believed that such a mud flow would not endanger any populated areas.

Then, on May 8, Mount St. Helen spoke again. Smoke and ash were emitted for the first time in weeks. The column rose 2000 feet.

On the same day, scientists discovered a “hot spot” beneath the swell, and said that “the risk on the northern side of the mountain is greater than ever” since the volcano began erupting. They also admitted that they had “turned a blind eye” to the volcano’s ultimate intentions.

Meanwhile, Truman, an owner of a residence in Spirit Lake Inn, refused to leave despite repeated appeals.

The week started an ill-fated start on May 10, 1980, when the earthquake struck Mount St. Helens – the largest earthquake since the mountain began.

Scientists continued to ask about the volcano’s final intentions.

The next day, they issued their most serious warning yet. During the daily press briefing, they no longer say “if it erupted.” They said “When it erupts.”

One scientist warned that explosions are sometimes associated with pulling gravity out of the sun and moon, which will reach its climax on May 21.

On May 13, The Spokesman-Review reported that a large earthquake caused snowfall of snow on the northern flank of the mountains. One of the scientists said that the whole area was in an “unstable situation”, and officials again urged Harry Truman, who is in the area, to leave the Spirit Lake cottage.

They offered to fly by helicopter, but he said, “I’ve decided to leave more than ever.”

On May 16, a three-man team from the American Boy Scouts was moved to Spirit Lake to recover 18,000 pounds of camp equipment. This looked like a risky task (especially later), but a helicopter was at all times ready to fly them if the mountain behaved.

A group of cabin owners threatened to challenge a government roadblock and form a “compound convoy” to run to their booths to recover their property. Sharif vowed to deport them, but officials were also considering allowing them entry as long as they signed the release.

On May 17, 1980, the mountain’s “intentions” seemed more clear than ever. The northern wing of the mountain was expanding north by 5 feet per day. Scientists were not sure how long it could last before the whole matter was separated.

In a story that should have caught people’s attention in eastern Washington, a volcano amateur (and pasta house owner) researcher in Toppenish, warned, “What will we do here if we get to the foot of the ash? It could happen, you know.”

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