Looking back: Mount St. Helens erupted 41 years ago, killing 57 people
KOIN 6 News Staff and Nexstar Media Wire
4 years ago
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN ) — At 8:32 a.m. on May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens erupted with a force that was heard more than 200 miles away.
Fifty-seven people were killed.
In honor of the 41st anniversary of the eruption, take a look at some of the jaw-dropping scenes of the aftermath:
FILE – Mt. St. Helens (Photo by Craig Mitchelldyer/Getty Images) View from Natasha’s dad’s plane. Flying north to Mt St Helens View from Natasha’s dad’s plane flying upwind of Mt St Helens. Mount St. Helens as it erupts on May 18, 1980. (USGS) MOUNT SAINT HELENS NATIONAL MONUMENT, WA – OCTOBER 1: Mount St. Helens emits a plume of steam and ash October 1, 2004 in the Mount St. Helens National Monument, Washington. (Photo by Scott Taylor.U.S. Navy via Gety Images) MT. ST. HELENS, WA – OCTOBER 1: Mount St. Helens is seen from the air after an eruption October 1, 2004 in Mt St. Helens, Washington. The eruption took place at 12:03PM PST and lasted for about 24 minutes. Mt. Rainer is seen in the backround. (Photo by Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images) In this photo provided by the U.S. Geological Survey, is an aerial view of he erupting Mount St. Helens volcano, made from the northwest side, May 18, 1980. In the background is Mount Hood. (AP Photo/U.S. Geological Survey) A construction dump truck sits in the ground covered with mud that came from a broken dam after the eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington, March 20, 1982. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg) Weyerhaeuser Co. forester Byron Rickert looks over some of the 150,000 acres of land near Mount St. Helens, Wash., Oct. 29, 1981, from which his company is saving trees damaged by the eruption of the volcano. Rickert is standing in an area about nine miles from the the crater of the volcano where the salvage logging operation has not yet begun. The twisted and splintered stumps around Rickert are the result of the volcano blast. (AP Photo/Gary Stewart) Steam rises from the dome inside the crater of Mount St. Helens in Washington state, March 21, 1982, with the remains of mud flows and pyroclastic material running out of the mouth of the crater. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg) Tom Johnston of Chicago examines a bronze plaque unveiled a the dedication of the Mount St. Helens Volcanic Monument in Toledo, Wash., May 18, 1983. The father of David Johnston, a U.S. Geological Survey scientist killed after alerting the world to the eruption of Mount St. Helens in May of 1980, said his son would have been proud of the monument. (AP Photo/Gary Stewart) This view looks toward Spirit Lake near the base of Mount St. Helens in Washington, May 24, 1980. A natural dam is separating Spirit Lake from the Toutle River and it is now stable but authorities warned that the danger is not over. (AP Photo/Lennox McLendon) Mount St. Helens in Washington state is shown in various stages of eruption, May 18, 1980. (AP Photo/Vern Hodgson) Mount St. Helens roars to life, sending a plume of smoke and ash skyward, Oct. 17, 1980. The volcano is located 45 miles northeast of Portland, Washington. Next to Mount St. Helens is Mount Rainier, a dormant volcano. The plume was estimated to be 50,000 feet. (AP Photo/Jack Smith) MT ST. HELENS, WA – OCTOBER 12: Steam erupts from Mount St. Helens October 12, 2004 at Mount St. Helens National Monument, in Washington. The steam eruptions have increased as magma reached the surface of the dome this morning. (Photo by Craig Mitchelldyer/Getty Images) The eruption of Mount St. Helens, May 18, 1980. (Courtesy of Roger Stenbock)
Just eight days later, Nexstar’s KOIN 6 News aired a half-hour special about the eruption, featuring aerial shots before, during and after the cataclysmic event.
It also chronicled the well-known tale of Harry Truman, the 84-year-old mountain man who refused to leave.