October 24, 2024 • 23 mins
44 years after it's eruption, Noodles and I camp at the base of the - still active - Mount Saint Helens.
We explore the tales of Harry Truman, the lodge owner who famously refused to leave despite the looming danger, and David Johnston, a devoted volcanologist committed to monitoring the volcano and saving lives.
We also make a case for why this iconic volcano, nestled within the majestic Cascade Range, remains a must-see destination for nature and history lovers.
Works Cited:
https://www.jstor.org/stable/40475407?searchText=mount+saint+helens&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dmount%2Bsaint%2Bhelens%26utm_source%3Dgoogle%26so%3Drel&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3A040e395c0e2de6e31a1e68973019e61b&seq=1
https://www.jstor.org/stable/40490705?readnow=1&seq=2#page_scan_tab_contents
https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/cascades-volcano-observatory/legacy-david-johnston
https://www.columbian.com/news/2013/dec/26/mount-st-helens-eruption-blackburn-lost-roll-film/
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/160320-mount-st-helens-eruption-logging-volcano-olson-ngbooktalk
https://www.history.com/topics/natural-disasters-and-environment/mount-st-helens
https://www.fs.usda.gov/detailfull/giffordpinchot/learning/nature-science/?cid=fseprd734630#:~:text=On%20the%20morning%20of%20May,in%20a%20powerful%20lateral%20blast.
https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/mount-st.-helens/science/1980-cataclysmic-eruption
https://thatoregonlife.com/2022/05/mt-st-helens-eruption-images/
https://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/2020/05/mount-st-helens-eruption-witnesses-recall-terror-awe-when-mountain-exploded-40-years-ago.html
https://www.seattlemet.com/travel-and-outdoors/2020/05/a-timeline-of-mount-st-helens
https://unapologeticnerd.com/2015/05/18/he-died-as-he-lived-david-a-johnston/
https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2015/05/the-eruption-of-mount-st-helens-in-1980/393557/
Noah and Noodles here!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Cruising down the street.
I wonder where this road wouldlead so many possibilities.
Care to share what you think.
Oh Noon Dolls, what do you see?
Back Road, odyssey, vancouver,vancouver.
(00:26):
This is it the last words ofvolcanologist David A Johnston
the day of the eruption, may18th 1980.
Mount St Helens erupts with theforce of 440 million tons of
(00:49):
TNT.
Lakes are buried, wildlifeconsumed by fire and ash.
57 people die.
It remains the deadliest andmost powerful volcanic eruption
in US history.
And most powerful volcaniceruption in US history.
(01:11):
44 years later, noodles and Icamp at the base of the
still-active volcano.
We're here along the southslope of Mount St Helens.
The sun is about to set.
Throughout the day, we hikedalong streams, listened to birds
, worked below healthy talltrees.
Anybody could be forgiven forthinking that nothing bad ever
(01:31):
happened here.
Truly, it's beautiful, butsomething did happen, and
Noodles and I are planning tospend the next few days
exploring everything that makesthe story of Mount St Helens
worth telling the people Itshistory, the strange science
behind its explosion and itssurprising I think significance
(01:52):
today.
For now, though, let's startwith a simple, simple question
what is Mount St Helens?
Long ago, it was calledLualwala Claw, by surrounding
tribes, the Smoking Mountain.
It was, and most timesconsidered to be a potentially
(02:14):
dangerous presence.
Potentially dangerous throughits renaming to Mount St Helens
in 1790.
Potentially dangerousthroughout the early 19th
century and quite literallydangerous during its 1842
eruption and ensuing lessereruptions until 1857, when,
suddenly, helens goes back tosleep, becoming once again,
(02:40):
whether acknowledged or not bythe surrounding people, simply
potentially dangerous Once more.
Mountains have a way of dealingwith overconfidence.
Herman Bull, australianMountaineer.
As part of the expansive CascadeMountain Range stretching from
(03:00):
Northern California to SouthernBritish Columbia, mount St
Helens, located in SouthernWashington, erupts with a
peculiar sporadic enthusiasm.
Mount Hood to the south andRainier to the north, both
technically active volcanoes,pale in comparison.
After Mount St Helens' suddensilence in 1857, peace returns.
(03:24):
In time.
It becomes yet anotherbeautiful Pacific Northwest
mountain, a place to retreat to,to relax, to get away for a
while.
Spirit Lake at the foot ofMount St Helens becomes a
particularly popular vacationdestination.
But well, the birds chirp, thecampers relax, the years pass, a
(03:48):
very awake volcano blooms,slowly building its anger.
There's no harm in hoping forthe best, as long as you're
prepared for the worst.
Stephen King.
Mount St Helens, it turns out,never stays quiet for long.
(04:08):
In the early spring of 1980,small earthquakes around Mount
St Helens signal coming danger.
Generally, there are tworesponses to any impending
threat or danger measuredcaution or willful ignorance.
We look at two stories thatembody these diametrically
(04:30):
opposed viewpoints.
No, that mountain will neverhurt me.
Harry Truman, owner of the MountSt Helens Lodge.
Not to be confused with theformer president of the same
name, harry Truman has owned alodge in the shadow of Mount St
Helens for decades.
(04:51):
His many summers along theshores of the beautiful Spirit
Lake are repetitious, uneventful, reliably predictable.
So when the very real threat ofan eruption presents itself in
the spring of 1980, trumanproves to be anything but
reactive.
(05:11):
In fact, he would soon be knownacross the nation as the man
who refused to leave as theearth shakes.
Throughout the spring of 1980,truman, throughout the spring of
1980, truman sits at the shoreof his well-loved Spirit Lake.
Gentle waves embrace his feetas more and more flee the area.
(05:34):
I just can't believe they'repaying me to do this.
David Johnston and reportedcalls to his parents.
David Johnston is avolcanologist with the US
Geological Survey.
When Hellens starts to stirafter 100 years of quiet,
johnston age 30, knows theimportance of closely monitoring
such a potentially dangerousvolcano.
(05:56):
As such, he is one of the firstscientists to arrive to the
volcano in March of 1980.
Specializing in volcanic gaseswhich can help predict activity,
johnston routinely delvesinside Helen's summit crater to
monitor Mount St Helens, despitethe clear dangers it presents.
(06:17):
Doing so, he knows, can beinvaluable in expanding
regulations around thepotentially catastrophic volcano
.
Doing so, he knows, can savelives Throughout the spring.
When, against his expectations,he doesn't see the high levels
of sulfur dioxide and othergases that aid in predicting
(06:40):
what the volcano will do, hebecomes frustrated In his heart.
Johnston knows something iscoming.
Every day he sees it with hisown eyes.
He sees the volcano's activityintensifying, earthquakes become
more regular around the area,but still the data he collects
doesn't reflect his dailyobservations.
(07:00):
But regardless of this, hepersists gathering data and he
continues to warn the public ofthe potential danger of Helens.
But he nor anybody could haveknown that the mountain was
increasingly waterlogged, whichimpacts the data anybody
(07:21):
attempts to gather.
And this clog inside thevolcano will lead to one of the
most unique, large-scale anddeadly eruptions in US history,
devastating the surroundinglandscape and killing both
Truman and Johnston.
Both Truman and Johnston Sameending.
(07:42):
Different paths taken to getthere.
We'll see exactly how bothstories end, but for now,
johnston gathers data to savelives.
Truman sits at his lakedownplaying the dangers of the
volcano in his backyard.
Regardless, the eruption iscoming.
(08:10):
I remember very, very vividlyhow quickly darkness descended
as the ash cloud came from thewest.
Diane Bell Miller, a SpokaneWashington resident, on May 18th
1980.
Six hours away from Helen's.
We're driving now from thesouth side, where we were, to
(08:32):
the north side of the volcano.
It's about a two hour drive,something like that, which
really puts into perspective thescale of this.
This eruption was just massive,and what's unique about it,
other than the astronomicalamount of energy released in
that first initial blast, iswhere the initial blast comes
(08:54):
from.
So typically with a volcano,when it erupts it blows straight
up, straight forward.
Right, we've all seen a sciencefair volcano.
But with helens, the magma andcoexisting pressure rise kind of
asymmetrically, not straight up, and when the pressure becomes
(09:16):
unsustainable it erupts alsoasymmetrically.
So what you have is tons andtons of rock and magma and
material shooting out sidewayslike a cannon.
And the trajectory of thiscannon blast was north where
we're headed now.
From what I've heard, it'swhere the most clear signs of
(09:39):
anything having happened can befound.
I was researching this a bitlast night in the van and I came
across a video of the momentsbefore the eruption.
I'll post it in the show notes,but it might be the craziest
thing I've ever seen on video.
So what happens in the video isthis?
What looks like literally halfof Mount St Helens just slides
(10:01):
down the mountain, and when Isaw this I knew I had to look
into it more.
So what happens is this?
A 5.1 magnitude earthquake,well below the volcano, triggers
literally the largest landslidein recorded history, and that's
the video that I saw.
And this is where it gets crazy, because, with this sudden
(10:22):
decrease in weight, the pressurethat had been building up all
spring for years and yearswithin Helen's is finally able
to shoot out with, as we'll see,terrible consequences, and it's
this chain reaction of eventsthat makes Helen such a
memorable and devastatingnatural disaster.
The earthquake triggers thelandslide which enables the
(10:43):
eruption, which causes floods,forest fires, ash in the sky for
miles, 57 deaths.
This is what we're driving tosee what's left of the summit
and the impact that this lateralblast had on the northern
landscape of Mount St Helens.
Here's my question now, though.
The eruption was inevitable, itwas going to happen, but what
(11:06):
about the 57 people that died?
What, if anything, could havebeen done to prevent this
massive loss of human life?
In response to the loomingthreat, the Washington
government, under Governor DixieRay, established a red zone
marking a no-entry point.
That's five miles around thesummit crater of Hellens
(11:27):
generally, but this would notnearly be enough For one.
This red zone, rather thancircling around Hellens,
completely fluctuates aroundprivate properties in the area,
often belonging to loggingcompanies reluctant to stop
operations for the day.
So the limits, then, wereroughly based on property rights
(11:50):
, not scientific recommendations.
And this larger argument in somany ways mirrors the
differences between Johnstonwarning about the impending
threat and Truman sitting idlyat his lodge.
Throughout the spring, johnstonand many scientists urged the
(12:12):
government for a wider, moresafe, more comprehensive red
zone, and throughout that samespring, truman refuses to leave
Spirit Lake, which is wellwithin the already small red
zone.
And two things happen.
This refusal sparks interestacross the nation.
He becomes somewhat of a folkhero, but it also angers those
(12:36):
that have already left the redzone.
If he can stay there illegally,why did I have to leave in the
first place?
If he can stay there illegally,why did I have to leave in the
first place?
This push and pull between thedesire for public safety and a
general stubbornness toacknowledge the coming threat
will prove to paralyze anychance to expand, retract or
(12:59):
move the five-mile red zoneestablished, even without the
volcano unexpectedly eruptingsideways, further increasing the
blast zone.
I'll add, the devastation willbe much wider spread than even
Johnston, with all his cautionexpects.
Still, johnston sits at his campmonitoring Mount St Helens,
(13:22):
just five miles north of thecrater the morning of the
eruption.
That same morning, truman sitsat his lodge just three miles
north of the crater, standinghere at an overlook well north
of the mountain, about eightmiles away, three miles from the
edge of the red zone in 1980.
(13:44):
Even here, even eight milesaway, I still feel close.
It's just wild and there's nosimpler way of describing what I
see.
The summit is gone.
Half of what the volcano shouldlook like simply just isn't
there the amount of energy,pent-up energy needed to make
this change.
(14:04):
It's just hard to wrap yourhead around.
And from here, where I'mstanding, I can also see where
Johnston camped, right at theedge of what would have been the
red zone.
Five miles from the mountain andbeyond that, where he was
camped is Spirit Lake, which iswhere Truman would have been
Standing here looking at allthis.
This is what is most strikingto me by May 8th or 9th, the
(14:26):
north side of Helens, wherewe're looking now, had a bulge,
and this bulge was growing fivefeet daily from the building
pressure.
In geological terms, this isabsolutely wild, and I think
about Johnston looking at this,as he was sitting way too close
and knew what could and willhappen.
(14:48):
Day after day, he looked atthis growing time bomb and
continued to work, not purely orat all, even out of
professional interest, but byall accounts, everything that
I've read he did this.
He continued to do this toprotect people from what he knew
and what he saw was going tohappen.
And let's remember this,johnston is one of the main
(15:10):
reasons that a red zone wascreated at all.
As insufficient as the five-mileradius ended up being, the
death toll undoubtedly couldhave been much higher.
24 hours before the eruption, areport, championed in part by
(15:47):
Johnston, was put on WashingtonGovernor Wray's desk.
This report contained aproposal to expand the red zone,
particularly in the West, whichis where most deaths ended up
occurring outside, where thegovernment deemed unsafe.
Despite Governor Wray's laterinsistence that all deaths
occurred inside the establishedfive-mile red zone, in reality,
(16:08):
only three of the 57 deaths onMay 18th occurred inside this
red zone.
All the proposal needed thatday was the governor's signature
, but it was never given.
That day was the governor'ssignature, but it was never
given.
The day before the eruption,governor Wray sat watching a
parade.
The report sat unread on herdesk and by the time she sat
(16:31):
down to read it, possibly signit, it was too late.
The volcano erupts, the greatestlandslide in recorded history.
(16:55):
An energy release equal to adetonated hydrogen bomb.
Floods, forest fires, miles ofash shoot up into the air,
covering states, ecosystemsdestroyed.
True chaos ensues for the nextnine hours.
The initial blast travels at670 miles per hour, extending
(17:20):
its destruction 19 miles northof the crater.
In addition, snow melts,creating rushing lahars
spreading around the mountainsix miles out.
Most immediately, nearlyeverything within eight miles of
Mount St Helens becomesunrecognizable A wasteland.
Any map made before theeruption Useless.
(17:44):
The entirety of Spirit Lake,along with Harry Truman, is
entombed in ash.
Johnston, who is directly inthe volcano's lateral blast zone
, breathes his last scorchingbreath.
Fifty-five others perish.
The world is impermanent.
(18:12):
The eruption of Mount St Helensshowed how quickly and
drastically things can change.
Yet we still can be goodstewards of the things we love.
Steve Olson Eruption the untoldstory of Mount St Helens.
Having gone around Mount StHelens for the last couple days
(18:34):
learning about the eruption, theevents leading up to it, I'm
sitting here driving away tryingto think about what can be
learned, or what I learned atleast, in doing this.
Here's what I think.
We have two examples Truman,who chooses to ignore what might
be coming.
Truman, who chooses to ignorewhat might be coming, and
Johnston, who confronts what hesees is coming.
(18:55):
Both of them die.
Here's my question Do theirrespective choices matter if the
end result is the same?
For myself, thinking about it,I'd rather be Johnston in a
situation acknowledging threatsand helping others face them.
Maybe what we have to learnfrom this is, when something is
(19:15):
definitely going to happen, it'sbest to accept it's coming and
be proactive and compassionateto yourself and others until it
comes.
If you see what's coming,downplay its approach and sit at
your lake.
Who would you have helped alongthe way, including yourself,
right?
Do I think Truman had a rightto stay on his private property,
(19:38):
sure, but in doing so hedownplays the severity of this
terrible situation.
This action further strengthensthis already growing, already
strong resistance to the small,inadequate red zone I don't know
Makes you think about which ofthe two you'd rather be.
I'll say this Driving away fromHelen's green on either side of
(20:01):
me today.
It's beautiful.
In the decades following theeruption, life returns Faster in
many cases than expected.
The area around Mount St Helensis now the most biologically
diverse in Washington state.
(20:22):
The now named Mount St HelensNational Volcanic Monument is
dedicated to volcanic research,recreation and education.
To volcanic research,recreation and education in the
area proves to be invaluable inthe study of the recovery of
landscapes after volcaniceruptions, although the
landscape will never be the sameas it was before the eruption.
(20:44):
Life around Mount St Helensgoes on 44 years after that
fateful May 18th day.
As my dog and I walk the trailsbelow Helens, the stories of
Truman, johnston and themountain itself echo throughout
the valley.
To stop then and to look up atthis scarred volcano in southern
(21:10):
Washington is to look into thepast, hopefully absorb its
lessons, its stories, itswarnings, and then to walk
forward with a renewed respecttoward the ever-present,
uniquely awake Mount St Helens.
It's Noah here.
(21:40):
Thank you for listening to thisepisode of Backroad Odyssey.
A couple things, first off.
Why should you visit Mount StHelens today?
Apart from hiking trails inproximity to Portland, which is
an easy day trip, that's what Iwould recommend.
I'll say this standing on anyoverlook north, especially of
the volcano, is a truly, trulyunique experience.
(22:04):
To see the scale of whathappened in person and then to
know stories like Truman's andJohnston's while standing there
is itself worth a trip.
It's also relevant, I think, tosee and respect what very much
could happen in the Cascades,rainier Hood Adams, not in a
(22:24):
depressing, morbid way, butreally to gain respect and
appreciation for the beauty andalmost independence of the
landscape of the PacificNorthwest, specifically the
Cascade mountain range.
To go to Helens is to recognizethat they own themselves.
We're just visitors.
For me, that's what a visit toMount St Helens provides.
(22:47):
With that said, if you enjoyedthis episode, if you enjoy back
road Odyssey, taking the time towrite the show, to review the
show, genuinely helps uscontinue to do what we're doing
and to grow, to put the amountof work we'd like to into each
episode.
Really appreciate your time.
Hope you enjoy it.
Be good to each other.
(23:07):
Where to next?
Cruising down the street.
I wonder where this road wouldlead so many possibilities.
Care to share what you think.
Oh Noon Dolls, what do you see?
Back Road, odyssey, vancouver,vancouver.
(00:26):
This is it the last words ofvolcanologist David A Johnston
the day of the eruption, may18th 1980.
Mount St Helens erupts with theforce of 440 million tons of
(00:49):
TNT.
Lakes are buried, wildlifeconsumed by fire and ash.
57 people die.
It remains the deadliest andmost powerful volcanic eruption
in US history.
And most powerful volcaniceruption in US history.
(01:11):
44 years later, noodles and Icamp at the base of the
still-active volcano.
We're here along the southslope of Mount St Helens.
The sun is about to set.
Throughout the day, we hikedalong streams, listened to birds
, worked below healthy talltrees.
Anybody could be forgiven forthinking that nothing bad ever
(01:31):
happened here.
Truly, it's beautiful, butsomething did happen, and
Noodles and I are planning tospend the next few days
exploring everything that makesthe story of Mount St Helens
worth telling the people Itshistory, the strange science
behind its explosion and itssurprising I think significance
(01:52):
today.
For now, though, let's startwith a simple, simple question
what is Mount St Helens?
Long ago, it was calledLualwala Claw, by surrounding
tribes, the Smoking Mountain.
It was, and most timesconsidered to be a potentially
(02:14):
dangerous presence.
Potentially dangerous throughits renaming to Mount St Helens
in 1790.
Potentially dangerousthroughout the early 19th
century and quite literallydangerous during its 1842
eruption and ensuing lessereruptions until 1857, when,
suddenly, helens goes back tosleep, becoming once again,
(02:40):
whether acknowledged or not bythe surrounding people, simply
potentially dangerous Once more.
Mountains have a way of dealingwith overconfidence.
Herman Bull, australianMountaineer.
As part of the expansive CascadeMountain Range stretching from
(03:00):
Northern California to SouthernBritish Columbia, mount St
Helens, located in SouthernWashington, erupts with a
peculiar sporadic enthusiasm.
Mount Hood to the south andRainier to the north, both
technically active volcanoes,pale in comparison.
After Mount St Helens' suddensilence in 1857, peace returns.
(03:24):
In time.
It becomes yet anotherbeautiful Pacific Northwest
mountain, a place to retreat to,to relax, to get away for a
while.
Spirit Lake at the foot ofMount St Helens becomes a
particularly popular vacationdestination.
But well, the birds chirp, thecampers relax, the years pass, a
(03:48):
very awake volcano blooms,slowly building its anger.
There's no harm in hoping forthe best, as long as you're
prepared for the worst.
Stephen King.
Mount St Helens, it turns out,never stays quiet for long.
(04:08):
In the early spring of 1980,small earthquakes around Mount
St Helens signal coming danger.
Generally, there are tworesponses to any impending
threat or danger measuredcaution or willful ignorance.
We look at two stories thatembody these diametrically
(04:30):
opposed viewpoints.
No, that mountain will neverhurt me.
Harry Truman, owner of the MountSt Helens Lodge.
Not to be confused with theformer president of the same
name, harry Truman has owned alodge in the shadow of Mount St
Helens for decades.
(04:51):
His many summers along theshores of the beautiful Spirit
Lake are repetitious, uneventful, reliably predictable.
So when the very real threat ofan eruption presents itself in
the spring of 1980, trumanproves to be anything but
reactive.
(05:11):
In fact, he would soon be knownacross the nation as the man
who refused to leave as theearth shakes.
Throughout the spring of 1980,truman, throughout the spring of
1980, truman sits at the shoreof his well-loved Spirit Lake.
Gentle waves embrace his feetas more and more flee the area.
(05:34):
I just can't believe they'repaying me to do this.
David Johnston and reportedcalls to his parents.
David Johnston is avolcanologist with the US
Geological Survey.
When Hellens starts to stirafter 100 years of quiet,
johnston age 30, knows theimportance of closely monitoring
such a potentially dangerousvolcano.
(05:56):
As such, he is one of the firstscientists to arrive to the
volcano in March of 1980.
Specializing in volcanic gaseswhich can help predict activity,
johnston routinely delvesinside Helen's summit crater to
monitor Mount St Helens, despitethe clear dangers it presents.
(06:17):
Doing so, he knows, can beinvaluable in expanding
regulations around thepotentially catastrophic volcano
.
Doing so, he knows, can savelives Throughout the spring.
When, against his expectations,he doesn't see the high levels
of sulfur dioxide and othergases that aid in predicting
(06:40):
what the volcano will do, hebecomes frustrated In his heart.
Johnston knows something iscoming.
Every day he sees it with hisown eyes.
He sees the volcano's activityintensifying, earthquakes become
more regular around the area,but still the data he collects
doesn't reflect his dailyobservations.
(07:00):
But regardless of this, hepersists gathering data and he
continues to warn the public ofthe potential danger of Helens.
But he nor anybody could haveknown that the mountain was
increasingly waterlogged, whichimpacts the data anybody
(07:21):
attempts to gather.
And this clog inside thevolcano will lead to one of the
most unique, large-scale anddeadly eruptions in US history,
devastating the surroundinglandscape and killing both
Truman and Johnston.
Both Truman and Johnston Sameending.
(07:42):
Different paths taken to getthere.
We'll see exactly how bothstories end, but for now,
johnston gathers data to savelives.
Truman sits at his lakedownplaying the dangers of the
volcano in his backyard.
Regardless, the eruption iscoming.
(08:10):
I remember very, very vividlyhow quickly darkness descended
as the ash cloud came from thewest.
Diane Bell Miller, a SpokaneWashington resident, on May 18th
1980.
Six hours away from Helen's.
We're driving now from thesouth side, where we were, to
(08:32):
the north side of the volcano.
It's about a two hour drive,something like that, which
really puts into perspective thescale of this.
This eruption was just massive,and what's unique about it,
other than the astronomicalamount of energy released in
that first initial blast, iswhere the initial blast comes
(08:54):
from.
So typically with a volcano,when it erupts it blows straight
up, straight forward.
Right, we've all seen a sciencefair volcano.
But with helens, the magma andcoexisting pressure rise kind of
asymmetrically, not straight up, and when the pressure becomes
(09:16):
unsustainable it erupts alsoasymmetrically.
So what you have is tons andtons of rock and magma and
material shooting out sidewayslike a cannon.
And the trajectory of thiscannon blast was north where
we're headed now.
From what I've heard, it'swhere the most clear signs of
(09:39):
anything having happened can befound.
I was researching this a bitlast night in the van and I came
across a video of the momentsbefore the eruption.
I'll post it in the show notes,but it might be the craziest
thing I've ever seen on video.
So what happens in the video isthis?
What looks like literally halfof Mount St Helens just slides
(10:01):
down the mountain, and when Isaw this I knew I had to look
into it more.
So what happens is this?
A 5.1 magnitude earthquake,well below the volcano, triggers
literally the largest landslidein recorded history, and that's
the video that I saw.
And this is where it gets crazy, because, with this sudden
(10:22):
decrease in weight, the pressurethat had been building up all
spring for years and yearswithin Helen's is finally able
to shoot out with, as we'll see,terrible consequences, and it's
this chain reaction of eventsthat makes Helen such a
memorable and devastatingnatural disaster.
The earthquake triggers thelandslide which enables the
(10:43):
eruption, which causes floods,forest fires, ash in the sky for
miles, 57 deaths.
This is what we're driving tosee what's left of the summit
and the impact that this lateralblast had on the northern
landscape of Mount St Helens.
Here's my question now, though.
The eruption was inevitable, itwas going to happen, but what
(11:06):
about the 57 people that died?
What, if anything, could havebeen done to prevent this
massive loss of human life?
In response to the loomingthreat, the Washington
government, under Governor DixieRay, established a red zone
marking a no-entry point.
That's five miles around thesummit crater of Hellens
(11:27):
generally, but this would notnearly be enough For one.
This red zone, rather thancircling around Hellens,
completely fluctuates aroundprivate properties in the area,
often belonging to loggingcompanies reluctant to stop
operations for the day.
So the limits, then, wereroughly based on property rights
(11:50):
, not scientific recommendations.
And this larger argument in somany ways mirrors the
differences between Johnstonwarning about the impending
threat and Truman sitting idlyat his lodge.
Throughout the spring, johnstonand many scientists urged the
(12:12):
government for a wider, moresafe, more comprehensive red
zone, and throughout that samespring, truman refuses to leave
Spirit Lake, which is wellwithin the already small red
zone.
And two things happen.
This refusal sparks interestacross the nation.
He becomes somewhat of a folkhero, but it also angers those
(12:36):
that have already left the redzone.
If he can stay there illegally,why did I have to leave in the
first place?
If he can stay there illegally,why did I have to leave in the
first place?
This push and pull between thedesire for public safety and a
general stubbornness toacknowledge the coming threat
will prove to paralyze anychance to expand, retract or
(12:59):
move the five-mile red zoneestablished, even without the
volcano unexpectedly eruptingsideways, further increasing the
blast zone.
I'll add, the devastation willbe much wider spread than even
Johnston, with all his cautionexpects.
Still, johnston sits at his campmonitoring Mount St Helens,
(13:22):
just five miles north of thecrater the morning of the
eruption.
That same morning, truman sitsat his lodge just three miles
north of the crater, standinghere at an overlook well north
of the mountain, about eightmiles away, three miles from the
edge of the red zone in 1980.
(13:44):
Even here, even eight milesaway, I still feel close.
It's just wild and there's nosimpler way of describing what I
see.
The summit is gone.
Half of what the volcano shouldlook like simply just isn't
there the amount of energy,pent-up energy needed to make
this change.
(14:04):
It's just hard to wrap yourhead around.
And from here, where I'mstanding, I can also see where
Johnston camped, right at theedge of what would have been the
red zone.
Five miles from the mountain andbeyond that, where he was
camped is Spirit Lake, which iswhere Truman would have been
Standing here looking at allthis.
This is what is most strikingto me by May 8th or 9th, the
(14:26):
north side of Helens, wherewe're looking now, had a bulge,
and this bulge was growing fivefeet daily from the building
pressure.
In geological terms, this isabsolutely wild, and I think
about Johnston looking at this,as he was sitting way too close
and knew what could and willhappen.
(14:48):
Day after day, he looked atthis growing time bomb and
continued to work, not purely orat all, even out of
professional interest, but byall accounts, everything that
I've read he did this.
He continued to do this toprotect people from what he knew
and what he saw was going tohappen.
And let's remember this,johnston is one of the main
(15:10):
reasons that a red zone wascreated at all.
As insufficient as the five-mileradius ended up being, the
death toll undoubtedly couldhave been much higher.
24 hours before the eruption, areport, championed in part by
(15:47):
Johnston, was put on WashingtonGovernor Wray's desk.
This report contained aproposal to expand the red zone,
particularly in the West, whichis where most deaths ended up
occurring outside, where thegovernment deemed unsafe.
Despite Governor Wray's laterinsistence that all deaths
occurred inside the establishedfive-mile red zone, in reality,
(16:08):
only three of the 57 deaths onMay 18th occurred inside this
red zone.
All the proposal needed thatday was the governor's signature
, but it was never given.
That day was the governor'ssignature, but it was never
given.
The day before the eruption,governor Wray sat watching a
parade.
The report sat unread on herdesk and by the time she sat
(16:31):
down to read it, possibly signit, it was too late.
The volcano erupts, the greatestlandslide in recorded history.
(16:55):
An energy release equal to adetonated hydrogen bomb.
Floods, forest fires, miles ofash shoot up into the air,
covering states, ecosystemsdestroyed.
True chaos ensues for the nextnine hours.
The initial blast travels at670 miles per hour, extending
(17:20):
its destruction 19 miles northof the crater.
In addition, snow melts,creating rushing lahars
spreading around the mountainsix miles out.
Most immediately, nearlyeverything within eight miles of
Mount St Helens becomesunrecognizable A wasteland.
Any map made before theeruption Useless.
(17:44):
The entirety of Spirit Lake,along with Harry Truman, is
entombed in ash.
Johnston, who is directly inthe volcano's lateral blast zone
, breathes his last scorchingbreath.
Fifty-five others perish.
The world is impermanent.
(18:12):
The eruption of Mount St Helensshowed how quickly and
drastically things can change.
Yet we still can be goodstewards of the things we love.
Steve Olson Eruption the untoldstory of Mount St Helens.
Having gone around Mount StHelens for the last couple days
(18:34):
learning about the eruption, theevents leading up to it, I'm
sitting here driving away tryingto think about what can be
learned, or what I learned atleast, in doing this.
Here's what I think.
We have two examples Truman,who chooses to ignore what might
be coming.
Truman, who chooses to ignorewhat might be coming, and
Johnston, who confronts what hesees is coming.
(18:55):
Both of them die.
Here's my question Do theirrespective choices matter if the
end result is the same?
For myself, thinking about it,I'd rather be Johnston in a
situation acknowledging threatsand helping others face them.
Maybe what we have to learnfrom this is, when something is
(19:15):
definitely going to happen, it'sbest to accept it's coming and
be proactive and compassionateto yourself and others until it
comes.
If you see what's coming,downplay its approach and sit at
your lake.
Who would you have helped alongthe way, including yourself,
right?
Do I think Truman had a rightto stay on his private property,
(19:38):
sure, but in doing so hedownplays the severity of this
terrible situation.
This action further strengthensthis already growing, already
strong resistance to the small,inadequate red zone I don't know
Makes you think about which ofthe two you'd rather be.
I'll say this Driving away fromHelen's green on either side of
(20:01):
me today.
It's beautiful.
In the decades following theeruption, life returns Faster in
many cases than expected.
The area around Mount St Helensis now the most biologically
diverse in Washington state.
(20:22):
The now named Mount St HelensNational Volcanic Monument is
dedicated to volcanic research,recreation and education.
To volcanic research,recreation and education in the
area proves to be invaluable inthe study of the recovery of
landscapes after volcaniceruptions, although the
landscape will never be the sameas it was before the eruption.
(20:44):
Life around Mount St Helensgoes on 44 years after that
fateful May 18th day.
As my dog and I walk the trailsbelow Helens, the stories of
Truman, johnston and themountain itself echo throughout
the valley.
To stop then and to look up atthis scarred volcano in southern
(21:10):
Washington is to look into thepast, hopefully absorb its
lessons, its stories, itswarnings, and then to walk
forward with a renewed respecttoward the ever-present,
uniquely awake Mount St Helens.
It's Noah here.
(21:40):
Thank you for listening to thisepisode of Backroad Odyssey.
A couple things, first off.
Why should you visit Mount StHelens today?
Apart from hiking trails inproximity to Portland, which is
an easy day trip, that's what Iwould recommend.
I'll say this standing on anyoverlook north, especially of
the volcano, is a truly, trulyunique experience.
(22:04):
To see the scale of whathappened in person and then to
know stories like Truman's andJohnston's while standing there
is itself worth a trip.
It's also relevant, I think, tosee and respect what very much
could happen in the Cascades,rainier Hood Adams, not in a
(22:24):
depressing, morbid way, butreally to gain respect and
appreciation for the beauty andalmost independence of the
landscape of the PacificNorthwest, specifically the
Cascade mountain range.
To go to Helens is to recognizethat they own themselves.
We're just visitors.
For me, that's what a visit toMount St Helens provides.
(22:47):
With that said, if you enjoyedthis episode, if you enjoy back
road Odyssey, taking the time towrite the show, to review the
show, genuinely helps uscontinue to do what we're doing
and to grow, to put the amountof work we'd like to into each
episode.
Really appreciate your time.
Hope you enjoy it.
Be good to each other.
(23:07):
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