40 years ago in Washington: Mount St. Helens eruption goes from an ‘if’ to a ‘when’
The week got off to an ominous start on May 10, 1980, when an earthquake jolted Mount St. Helens – the biggest quake since the mountain started rumbling.
Scientists “continued wondering about the restless volcano’s ultimate intentions.”
The next day, they issued their most serious warning yet. During the daily news briefing, they no longer said “if it erupts.” They said “when it erupts.”
One scientist warned that eruptions sometimes were tied with the gravitational pull of the sun and moon, which would peak on May 21.
On May 13, The Spokesman-Review reported that a large earthquake let loose an avalanche of ice on the mountain’s north flank. A scientist said the whole area was in a “precarious situation,” and officials again urged area resident Harry Truman to leave his Spirit Lake Lodge.
They offered to fly him out via helicopter, but he said, “I’ve made up my mind more than ever not to leave.”
On May 16, a three-man team from the Boy Scouts of America was flown into Spirit Lake to retrieve 18,000 pounds of camp equipment. This seemed like a perilous undertaking (especially in retrospect), but a helicopter was poised at all times to fly them out if the mountain acted up.
A group of cabin owners threatened to defy a state roadblock and form a “vehicle caravan” to make a run into their cabins to recover belongings. The sheriff vowed to keep them out, but officials were also considering allowing them in as long as they signed a release.
On May 17, 1980, however, the mountain’s “intentions” seemed clearer than ever. The north flank of the mountain was expanding northward at the rate of 5 feet per day. Scientists weren’t sure how much longer that could go on before the whole thing might “break loose.”
And in a story that should have caught the attention of people in Eastern Washington, an amateur volcano researcher (and spaghetti house owner) in Toppenish warned, “What are we going to do here if we get a foot of ash? That could happen, you know.”