Mount St. Helens Ape Caves officially reopen on May 22, 2026! Vancouver is just a 1.5-hour drive away, making for a great day trip. After exploring the caves, head back to the city to enjoy tasty bites and local craft brews! 🗻 ⚠️ Timed-entry reservations are required! Tickets at: zurl.co/h8DLP

Can't you tell I'm absolutely fascinated with the history of mass media?

May 11, 1980 The camera shutter snaps on Reid Blackburn's Nikon as the snow-dusted, bulging peak of Mount St. Helens sputters steam and ash eight miles southeast. Blackburn, 27, was a photographer for The Columbian in Vancouver, Washington. Newlywed to Fay the previous August. A born professional.

I've heard some requests across my accounts for help visualizing where people and landmarks were around Mount St. Helens in May 1980. You're in luck. Fellow eruption historian Kelly Michals created a custom Google Map of key sites around the mountain.

May 11, 1980 The camera shutter snaps on Reid Blackburn's Nikon as the snow-dusted, bulging peak of Mount St. Helens sputters steam and ash eight miles southeast. Blackburn, 27, was a photographer for The Columbian in Vancouver, Washington. Newlywed to Fay the previous August. A born professional.

May 11, 1980 | T-7 Days to Eruption Small bursts of steam and ash, fifth day in a row. Ten earthquakes of magnitude 4.0 or greater. A new fumarole on the upper Shoestring Glacier. The bulge bulged. In the press, most scientists had quietly stopped saying "if St. Helens erupts." Now, it's "when."

May 4, 1980 Unemployed radio technician Robert Rogers, left, has climbed Mount St. Helens several times since it awoke in March. Today, he's a guest of Portland State professors Len Palmer and Paul Hammond, their students, and NBC Today's David Burrington. Pausing a beat, a few poses for a photo.

May 10, 1980 Skamania County Sheriff Bill Closner, Cowlitz Sheriff Les Nelson, and Skamania Deputy George Barker drove up to Spirit Lake with a plan. They knew Harry Truman had painted himself into a corner, so they'd quietly take him to his property in Prindle, no press, to save face.

May 10, 1980 Skamania County Sheriff Bill Closner, Cowlitz Sheriff Les Nelson, and Skamania Deputy George Barker drove up to Spirit Lake with a plan. They knew Harry Truman had painted himself into a corner, so they'd quietly take him to his property in Prindle, no press, to save face.

May 10, 1980 | T-8 Days Scientists couldn't publicly agree on whether to predict an eruption at Mount St. Helens. UW seismologist Steve Malone said there's at least an even chance of a magmatic event. PSU's Leonard Palmer agreed and warned that lava from a dome eruption could be very explosive.

May 10, 1980 | T-8 Days Scientists couldn't publicly agree on whether to predict an eruption at Mount St. Helens. UW seismologist Steve Malone said there's at least an even chance of a magmatic event. PSU's Leonard Palmer agreed and warned that lava from a dome eruption could be very explosive.

May 9, 1980 The meeting Don Mullineaux missed two nights ago — turned around on I-5 by a black plume over the mountain — finally happens. 130 Toutle residents fill Toutle Lake High School seeking answers from the figurehead of the scientific community. It has been an uneasy month-and-a-half.

May 9, 1980 | 11:06 a.m. A sharp quake hits St. Helens. At Coldwater II, 5.5 miles away, USGS's Harry Glicken feels it first in the trailer — dishes rattling, the whole structure rolling. He steps outside and notes it in his log: a roar fading over roughly 30 seconds, punctuated by muffled reports.

May 9, 1980 | T-9 Days KIRO reports from the Toutle Valley: Spirit Lake could vanish if the bulge on Mount St. Helens breaks, sending a wall of water, rock, and mud barreling downriver. In Toutle, schools have practiced loading all 600 students, faculty, and staff onto school buses in under 15 min.

May 1, 1980 KATU's Stan Wilson flies to the summit crater of Mount St. Helens with Portland State geologist Tom Benson. Though the volcano hasn't erupted since April 22, they're dancing with danger. Ground seeps steam while rockfalls echo around the massive pit. It's an eerie yet awesome sight.

May 1, 1980 KATU's Stan Wilson flies to the summit crater of Mount St. Helens with Portland State geologist Tom Benson. Though the volcano hasn't erupted since April 22, they're dancing with danger. Ground seeps steam while rockfalls echo around the massive pit. It's an eerie yet awesome sight.

May 8, 1980 | T-10 Days Muddy rain falls on the Timberline monitoring station. USGS geologist Jim Moore works the theodolite through the weather as Mount St. Helens keeps erupting. Ash blows north and east. The crater steams continuously. So does Shoestring Glacier and The Boot on the cone.

May 7, 1980 | 11 Days to Eruption After more than two weeks of relative quiet, Mount St. Helens erupts again. At 5:57 p.m., the volcano coughs out a 13-minute burst of steam. About a half hour later, at 6:23 p.m., a second eruption sends ash 13,000 feet high. Activity continues through the night.

May 7, 1980 250 residents packed the Toutle Lake School auditorium, seeking answers. The USGS geologists they had come to hear never showed — Mount St. Helens had just broken its two-week silence, pulling them back to work. Sheriff Les Nelson and Superintendent Bill Lehning faced the crowd instead.

May 7, 1980 | 11 Days to Eruption After more than two weeks of relative quiet, Mount St. Helens erupts again. At 5:57 p.m., the volcano coughs out a 13-minute burst of steam. About a half hour later, at 6:23 p.m., a second eruption sends ash 13,000 feet high. Activity continues through the night.

Did you know our state has five active volcanoes? Congrats. You are now part of volcano awareness month. There’s lots of events this month, both in-person and online hosted by USGS, us, Pierce County, State Parks & others. Find details in the link: mil.wa.gov/news/volcano...

May 6, 1980 USGS geologist Norm Banks, part of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory staff deployed to Mount St. Helens, photographs the crater and fumarole venting on the south wall. While the volcano paused phreatic eruptions in late April and early May, fumarole activity continued.

May 6, 1980 At today's press briefing, USGS geologist Don Mullineaux says the north flank has been moving north at five feet a day for two weeks straight. An infrared flight over Mount St. Helens has detected a warm spot on the bulge in Forsyth Glacier — heat from below, showing through the ice.

May 6, 1980 At today's press briefing, USGS geologist Don Mullineaux says the north flank has been moving north at five feet a day for two weeks straight. An infrared flight over Mount St. Helens has detected a warm spot on the bulge in Forsyth Glacier — heat from below, showing through the ice.

NASA released 12,217 images captured by Artemis astronauts. Here are some of the best:

Clearing hindsight from your mind is a difficult proposition. While we know what is to come yet, an exercise. If the only thing you had to forecast what Mount St. Helens was capable of in the spring of 1980, your baseline would be this map.

May 5, 1980 In a Tacoma News Tribune interview that runs on May 6, @tacomacc.bsky.social's Jack Hyde shares his concerns about the bulge, the "most significant" development at Mount St. Helens. "I have a gut feeling that if the bulge continues to grow, something dramatic is going to happen soon."

Sometimes we think May 5 should be called "Jack Hyde Tried to Warn Us" Day, but sure, Revenge of the 5th works too. 🤔🗻

May 5, 1980 In a Tacoma News Tribune interview that runs on May 6, @tacomacc.bsky.social's Jack Hyde shares his concerns about the bulge, the "most significant" development at Mount St. Helens. "I have a gut feeling that if the bulge continues to grow, something dramatic is going to happen soon."

Heyyyyyyy there, bottom left.

Clearing hindsight from your mind is a difficult proposition. While we know what is to come yet, an exercise. If the only thing you had to forecast what Mount St. Helens was capable of in the spring of 1980, your baseline would be this map.

May 4, 1980 USGS officials from Reston had arrived to discuss how much longer the volcano watch could be funded. David Johnston wasn't going anywhere. "We all want to stay," he told reporters. "I even offered to move here." Steam venting continued inside the crater. No eruptions since April 22.

If, by chance, you want to dive into the definitive collection of U.S. Geological Survey research into the 1980 eruption, the Professional Paper 1250 book is your pick. Thankfully, you can now find a digital scan of this 844-page behemoth on the USGS website at pubs.usgs.gov/pp/1250/report.pdf.

May 3, 1980 Skamania County Sheriff Bill Closner has had it with TV news crews flying to Mount St. Helens and Spirit Lake. KATU reporter Robin Anderson, cameraman Carl Wikman, and Fred Stocker, a house painter from Shelton, Wash., now working with Nat Geo, visited Harry Truman two days earlier.

May 2, 1980 At 5:52 a.m., a M4.0 quake struck beneath Mount St. Helens. Four more followed in the next 18 minutes. One measured 4.6. At 12:27 p.m., another 4.6 hit. It was felt in Toutle, Silver Lake, and Castle Rock. Thirty-four quakes over M3.0 hit the peak today.

May 2, 1980 At 5:52 a.m., a M4.0 quake struck beneath Mount St. Helens. Four more followed in the next 18 minutes. One measured 4.6. At 12:27 p.m., another 4.6 hit. It was felt in Toutle, Silver Lake, and Castle Rock. Thirty-four quakes over M3.0 hit the peak today.

Okay. Be prepared. Please be open-minded. Facebook...can have pooooositive uses. GIVE ME A CHANCE. WAIT. If you want to follow my posts there, and—I know, BIG ASK—you can see Facebook users' photos, stories, and maybe a little of me setting the scene. www.facebook.com/share/p/1LSH...

The first face you saw on more than one of the early April 1980 videos posted.

May 1, 1980 The U.S. Geological Survey establishes Coldwater II on a ridge above the North Fork Toutle, 5.7 miles north-northwest of the summit. At 4,100 feet—about 1,400 feet above the valley floor—it offers a direct, unobstructed view of the swelling north face.

May 1, 1980 The U.S. Geological Survey establishes Coldwater II on a ridge above the North Fork Toutle, 5.7 miles north-northwest of the summit. At 4,100 feet—about 1,400 feet above the valley floor—it offers a direct, unobstructed view of the swelling north face.

April 30, 1980 18 Days to Eruption Gov. Dixy Lee Ray signs Executive Order 80-05, declaring the entire state an emergency area and establishing Red and Blue Zones around Mount St. Helens. Access is now governed by state law, with enforcement by the State Patrol and Forest Service.

April 30, 1980 USGS geologist David Johnston descends into Mount St. Helens's crater to sample the pond water—testing if SO₂ was dissolving into it. He spends 29 minutes on the floor as colleagues watch. Less than an hour after lifting off, a M4.0 quake sends ice crashing to where he'd just knelt.

We've got a live video stream of Mount St. Helens from close range thanks to the Mount St. Helens Institute! You can now watch the mountain (and Coldwater Lake) live from the comfort of your own home.

April 29, 1980 Armed with daily USGS reports, Cowlitz County Sheriff Les Nelson had concluded that people in the river valleys near Mount St. Helens were in serious danger. But the peak looks so beautiful, people just don't realize it. Deputies were in four teams, running evacuation drills.

It's 9:20, and I just had a video idea pop in my head for OTD today. (crack kunckles) And a-way we go.

Full stop, this whole thing doesn’t happen without DEEP TISSUE therapy. Work through years of ADHD guilt and shame, of feeling weird, unable to be authentically yourself. Sometimes, though, when you finally get the courage to send a signal out to the world, you get some back. You’re not alone.

A brief pause in the action for a few words (all listed in alt text, of course).

April 28, 1980 Even if Mount St. Helens never spits out a drop of lava, USGS volcanologist David Johnston tells reporters, an extreme danger exists until the north flank stabilizes. "And the only way it can stabilize is to come down." Goat Rocks has pushed outward 20 ft in the past four days alone.

April 27, 1980 PGE chemist Bob Kaseweter and his family spend a sunny Sunday afternoon feeling the earth tremble at the Timberline turnaround below Mount St. Helens. Taking photos, his parents hold up a sign welcoming their new granddaughter, the bulging north face visible behind them.