Mt. St. Helens

On the morning of May 18, 1980 a magnitude 5.1 earthquake triggered an eruption of the volcano, throwing an eruption column 80,000 feet into the sky, with ash eventually blanketing 11 states. 57 people were killed in what has been declared the worst volacnic eruption in United States history.

Section:Gallery

Thu., May 18, 2017

A usually busy Riverside Avenue in downtown Spokane is covered with ash on May 19, 1980.

J. Bart Raynaik Sr
Following the May 18, 1980, eruption of Mt. St. Helens, up to six inches of ash fell on parts of central and eastern Washington from a cloud that blackened the skies for hundreds of miles across Washington, North Idaho and Western Montana. The ash blotted out the sun and fell like snow, drifting as high as two feet. It crushed crops, caused schools and businesses to be closed, and halted nearly all transportation, stranding thousands of motorists. On May 19, Keith Domina took a break from the messy clean-up in Ritzville, Wash.

Jim Shelton Associated Press
The 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens sent a plume of ash that blotted out the sun in parts of Washington and North Idaho. The ash fell like snow, drifted as deep as two feet, and crushed crops, haulted transportation and caused schools and businesses to close.

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Tekoa farmer Harry Smith cuts grass following the May 18, 1980, eruption of Mt. St. Helens, when up to six inches of ash fell on parts of central and eastern Washington from a cloud that blackened the skies for hundreds of miles across Washington, North Idaho and Western Montana.
Ash from Mt. St. Helens covered the streets in Spokane, Wash.
People at the ticket counter at the Spokane International Airport on May 21, 1980.
A crew dressed to clean up ash from Mt. St. Helens on May 24, 1980.
The ash was so heavy in Spokane, Wash., people were wearing masks on May 20, 1980.
Ash covered the region after Mt. St. Helens erupted.
The ash from Mt. St. Helens killed engines, stranding people all over the region.
Mt. St. Helens aftermath in Ritzville, Wash. on May 19, 1980.

J.Bart Rayniak The Spokesman-Review
Spokane after Mt. St. Helens on May 19, 1980.
Downtown Kelso Wash. is almost empty the morning of the eruption of Mt. St. Helens as people rushed to save their homes or evacuate the area for fear of another eruption. In a bit of dark humor the movie playing at the time is "The Late Great Planet Earth".

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Passengers arriving at Spokane International Airport wrap cloth or don masks as they wait for transportation in a swirling haze of ash from Mt. St. Helens days after the eruption of May 18, 1980.

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Approaching Mt. St. Helens from the southwest on May 18, 1980 gives you a sense of the scope and size of the eruption that devastated the area.

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People wore masks to protect themselves from the ash from Mt. St. Helens.
Washington State Govenor Dixy Lee Ray is swamped by reporters after taking a flight with the National Guard over the devastation left by the eruption of Mt. St. Helens May 18, 1980.
One year after the eruption of Mt. St. Helens and the landscape is still scarred with shattered timber and a deep covering of ash and mud.

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When Mt. St. Helens exploded on May 18, 1980 a giant wave of gas and energy blew at 750 mph across the landscape laying timber down like a giant hand had swept across the hills. It is estimated that 200 square miles of forest was destroyed.

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People gather in the Gilmore gym in Ritzville, Wash.

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Truckers stranded in Sprague, Wash.

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Jamie White, 2, and Keitz Witcher show off their masks in Spokane two days after the Mt. St. Helens eruption, May 20, 1980. The kids enjoyed the game of bandit or "bad guys" with everyone running around with masked faces.

Jim Shelton Sr
Amelia Kramer, Ritzville, Washington, works to get the ash off her sidewalk as a city employee uses larger piece of equipment to get the street in order. Ritzville was the hardest hit town in Eastern Washingotn, recieving several inches of the ash and still tries to cope with all the chaos months later.

Jim Shelton Sr
Ash from the Mt. St. Helens eruption covered fields and streets in Eastern Washington.
Diane Tempest, Rick Burt, John Groset and Margaret McIntyre package ash to ship to San Francisco to sell.

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Washington State trooper, Jim Munyon, stands on I-90 amid the ash from the Mt. St. Helens eruption.

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Farm equipment was covered in ash from the Mt. St. Helens eruption.
A car kicks up ash in a Rosauers parking lot in Moscow, Idaho on May 24, 1980.
Filters by the truckload flow into Spokane, Wash. The hottest item besides masks for humans was filters for the car and truck. Several filters were needed just to get across town or drive out into the countryside.

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Abraham Lincoln stands ready with a mask in downtown Spokane, Wash.

Phil Schofield The Spokesman-Review
The ash from the Mt. St. Helens eruption blanket the region.

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The ash from the Mt. St. Helens eruption blanket the region.

Jim Shelton Sr
Flying over Mt. St. Helens the day after the eruption, National Guard helipcopter crews search for survivors.

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Air police officers stand beside a line of evacuation vehicles from Fairchild Air Base, Spokane. The base was having it's annual Open House with approx. 60,000 people viewing aircrafft and static exhibits. With the explosion of Mt. St. Helens and the lack of adequate radio or news reports on the extent of ash cloud....most of the people were still enjoying the show when ash started falling on spokane....getting 60,000 people out of the airbase turned into one hectic chore, compounded by the total darkness.

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Larry Erickson and Greg Sprague, Spokane officers at Boneshakers on routine call.

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Don Pease waits to take off in his experimental Boeing F-86 as the ash cloud from Mount Saint Helens approaches Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane around 2:30 p.m., May 18. 1980.

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L-R (facing camera) John Evans, (Idaho Gov) Dixey Lee Roy, Tom Foley (background), Ron Bair (Spo. mayor) and Jimmy Carter in Spokane after Mt. St. Helens eruption