eruption Archives

A black and white landscape photograph of Mount Saint Helens during a spring sunset as seen from the Johnston Ridge Observatory, Washington.

I Was There: My Story of the 1980 Mount St. Helens Eruption

May 17, 2023April 15, 2024

I was 16 years old on May 18, 1980, when Mount St. Helens erupted. I was with my dad and cousin at a bass fishing tournament on Silver Lake in Cowlitz County, Washington, about 30 miles west of the volcano. It was a beautiful, clear, sunny morning. We had hoped for a visible steam or…

A black and white photograph of Mount St. Helens framed in by the forest as viewed from the Bear Meadows Viewpoint off of Forest Road 99 in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, Washington.

What were you doing the day Mt. St. Helens blew it’s top?

May 18, 2021February 18, 2024

For those born after 1980, this question doesn’t apply to you. The following is my story of the historical Pacific Northwest day. Sunday, May 18. 1980, at 8:32 AM, a significant eruption of Mt. St Helens occurred. I was 16. I was with my dad and cousin at a bass fishing tournament on Silver Lake…