Filed under: Environment, History, News, Pop Culture | Tags: Mt. St. Helens, Natural Disasters
[The following was originally posted in 2008]
Chances are, if you’re not from Washington or Oregon, the date May 18th has little meaning to you. Heck, even around here, many don’t think of it unless someone reminds them.
But I remember — every year.
It’s one of the only world events I remember from back then (I was very young after all). But the eruption of Mount St. Helens on May 18, 1980 was just the kind of event that little boys remember forever.
We were very fortunate; the mountain exploded northwards, but the prevailing winds carried the ash plume away to the southeast. I remember being somewhat disappointed that the ash wasn’t turning day into night for us like it was for all the people on TV. In fact, we didn’t seem to get any ash-fall at all, much to my chagrin; while people on the other side of the mountain were measuring it in inches like snow. According to news reports, there were people on the other side of the country getting more ash fall than I was. As you can imagine, I was very envious!
So much excitement! So little pay-off.
About the most exciting thing I personally experienced was standing on my dad’s roof to see the enormous plume looking fairly small and unimpressive so many miles away. I’m not sure if we heard the explosion or not. They say people heard it up to 700 miles away, and we were certainly much closer than that. I think we did — but then, that could just be my memory playing tricks on me.
So close, and yet so far. But I still remember it every year.
Filed under: Politics | Tags: Natural Disasters, The Seasons in Full, Weather
We’re back to normal rain in the Seattle area. (Don’t move to Seattle if you don’t like rainy days.) Any trace of snow or ice is long gone, and everybody will forget that it snowed, until the next time. The little town of Leavenworth, across the mountains, has asked for National Guard help because they have too much snow, and Chehalis, also across the mountains, has floods. Is there anyplace in the country that is free of minor to large natural disasters? I am horrified to see the damage from tornadoes in some parts of the country, because I have never experienced anything of the sort.
Floods, yes. We had about 3 miles of river flowing through our Idaho property, A somewhat shiftless neighbor upriver did a lot of pruning and cutting back brush along the river by his property one year, and left the prunings lie where they were cut, which was along the river. Normal higher water from snow melt in the spring washed all the prunings downriver where they piled up against a railroad bridge and essentially made a dam. The amount of water held back by the dam eventually burst the railroad bridge and descended on our property as a flood. Took out five buildings of ours. One was our power plant. We managed for a long time without electric power, but Idaho Power was on the way not too long after, though we did cope for a very long time with gas lanterns and kerosene lamps and our wood stoves. It was a major relief when Idaho Power finally arrived, and one could once again just flip a switch on.
Lived in a San Francisco apartment for one major earthquake. I was washing dishes with some nearby cabinet doors open and things were cascading out of their shelves. Some breakage, but not all that much, but it was scary. I definitely do not like earthquakes. No warning at all. Just suddenly everything starts shaking. Sometimes violently.
Floods, for the most part are the result of too much rain and high rivers, so you know what might happen. Most forest fires are caused by lightning strikes, but modern technology allows the Forest Service to get on them promptly. The local news may not keep up to date on forest fires, but you can check in with the U.S. Forest Service if you are planning a hike or camping trip. We have some active volcanoes here, but usually plenty of warning for an eruption.
Filed under: Environment, History, News, Pop Culture | Tags: Mount St. Helens, Natural Disasters
[The following was originally posted in 2008]
Chances are, if you’re not from Washington or Oregon, the date May 18th has little meaning to you. Heck, even around here, many don’t think of it unless someone reminds them.
But I remember — every year.
It’s one of the only world events I remember from back then (I was very young after all). But the eruption of Mount St. Helens on May 18, 1980 was just the kind of event that little boys remember forever.
We were very fortunate; the mountain exploded northwards, but the prevailing winds carried the ash plume away to the southeast. I remember being somewhat disappointed that the ash wasn’t turning day into night for us like it was for all the people on TV. In fact, we didn’t seem to get any ash-fall at all, much to my chagrin; while people on the other side of the mountain were measuring it in inches like snow. According to news reports, there were people on the other side of the country getting more ash fall than I was. As you can imagine, I was very disappointed.
So much excitement! So little pay-off.
About the most exciting thing I personally experienced was standing on my dad’s roof to see the enormous plume looking fairly small and unimpressive so many miles away. I’m not sure if we heard the explosion or not. They say people heard it up to 700 miles away, and we were certainly much closer than that. I think we did — but then, that could just be my memory playing tricks on me.
So close, and yet so far. But I still remember it every year.
Filed under: Environment, History, News, The United States | Tags: Eruption, Mount St. Helens, Natural Disasters, Volcano
[Ed. note: the following was originally posted in 2008 on this infamous day]
Chances are, if you’re not from Washington or Oregon, the date May 18th has little meaning to you. Heck, even around here many don’t think of it unless someone reminds them. But I remember — every year. It’s one of the only world events I remember from back then — I was very young after all; but the eruption of Mt. St. Helens on May 18, 1980 was just the kind of event that little boys remember forever.
We were very fortunate; the mountain exploded northwards, but the winds carried the ash-cloud away to the southeast. I remember being somewhat disappointed that the ash wasn’t turning day into night for us like it was for all the people on the television. In fact, we didn’t seem to get any ash-fall at all, much to my chagrin; while people on the other side of the mountain were measuring it in inches, like snow.
So much excitement! …and so little pay off.
About the most exciting thing I personally experienced was standing on my father’s roof to see the enormous plume looking fairly small and unimpressive so many miles away. I’m not sure if we heard the explosion or not. They say people heard it as far as 700 miles away, and we were certainly much closer than that. I think we did — but that could just be my memory playing tricks on me.
So close, and yet so far. But I still remember it every year.
Where were you?
Update: Michael Rubin at the Corner links to an excellent photo montage on the eruption and the aftermath.
Filed under: Environment, History, News, Science/Technology | Tags: Eruption, Mount St. Helens, Natural Disasters, Volcano
[Ed. note: the following was originally posted in 2008 on this infamous day]
Chances are, if you’re not from Washington or Oregon, the date May 18th has little meaning to you. Heck, even around here many don’t think of it unless someone reminds them. But I remember — every year. It’s one of the only world events I remember from back then — I was very young after all; but the eruption of Mt. St. Helens on May 18, 1980 was just the kind of event that little boys remember forever.
We were very fortunate; the mountain exploded northwards, but the winds carried the ash-cloud away to the southeast. I remember being somewhat disappointed that the ash wasn’t turning day into night for us like it was for all the people on the television. In fact, we didn’t seem to get any ash-fall at all, much to my chagrin; while people on the other side of the mountain were measuring it in inches, like snow.
So much excitement! …and so little pay off.
About the most exciting thing I personally experienced was standing on my father’s roof to see the enormous plume looking fairly small and unimpressive so many miles away. I’m not sure if we heard the explosion or not. They say people heard it as far as 700 miles away, and we were certainly much closer than that. I think we did — but that could just be my memory playing tricks on me.
So close, and yet so far. But I still remember it every year.
Where were you?
Update: Michael Rubin at the Corner links to an excellent photo montage on the eruption and the aftermath.
American Elephants 