On May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens erupted, with an explosion 1,600 times that of the Hiroshima atomic bomb. Ash fell in at least eleven U.S. states, lahars (volcanic mud flows) that were fed by melted glaciers and the lateral blast, composed of volcanic gases, lava, and pulverized rock might have surpassed the speed of sound. Effectively, the south-western Washington area got a sharp and violent reminder on just how close to the Pacific Ring of Fire they truly were. In 1980 dollars, the damage toll was well over a billion and the area around the mountain was essentially ash-covered wasteland.
For better or worse, one of the best ways to understand the decimation of what happened that day is by looking at what was left behind. One of the official monuments that stands out is the Miner’s Car, a 1971 Pontiac Grand Prix, and another is the KOMO-TV 4 Mercury Monarch that was taken by a reporter up to the area that became the blast zone and was abandoned after the car failed. Those two vehicles are known, both being made into monuments. But they are just two of many vehicles that were lost to the volcano’s fury. The man behind Mobile Instinct, Chris, takes a camera into the area that the volcano re-worked completely, showing the damage in the forms of the vehicles left behind. From the Weyrehaeuser fire truck that caught the base of a tree directly to the nearly buried bulldozer, this tour is a reminder of just how potent nature can truly be.
This looks like the line up at a rat rod show and even as I write this there are expeditions of rat rod fanciers equipped with chain saws fighting their way through the forest to claim one of these wrecks for their own!
There was no lava!
In certain areas, it was difficult to tell if there was or wasn’t, especially in the “fan” blast zone. While St. Helens was mostly lava-free compared to, say, a Hawaiian volcano, the pyroclastic flow would surely have material just as hot and dangerous.
No lava. Pyroclastic flow, which is a mixture of superheated gasses, steam, mud, ash (which is actually very much like a dusty sand) and debris flow. The name of the company is pronounced like “warehouse-er”. The large piece of equipment he was not able to identify is a yarder, for pulling trees to a landing after they have been felled. Anyone can get a permit to climb the mountain, just stop by the ranger station and purchase the permit. I live and work in the area and was 9 years old in 1980 when the mountain erupted. I’ll never forget it, an incredible experience.
I heard stories from many people growing up (western MT) that the ash falling was so thick, even in Montana, that the only rigs that would keep running for any decent amount of time were old units with oil bath air filter housings. Thought that was interesting.
I was at a Boy Scout Jamboree on Ft. Lewis that weekend.