St. Helens: Out of the Ash 

My dad was supposed to be on the mountain the day it blew. He and his best friend had a mining company and a claim on the mountain. However, May 18th, was Lindsey's birthday and the group ALWAYS went to the horse races in his birthday. One guy stayed up on the claim and he perished. They lost everything in the pyroclastic flow, the cabin was blown flat, and their heavy equipment was ruined. I'm so glad it was Lindsey's birthday that day!!!

I was 20 and I knew this was something most human beings will never see.

My sis and me watched it blow from our backyard in Longview, Wa. After hearing the loudest boom ever, we looked up and across toward the mountain and noticed a lot of black smoke (ash) spewing out of it quite rapidly. My dad comes running out to see and he got out his camera and shot a lot of pictures. We had an absolutely perfect view from where we were. There were no trees in our way to prevent us from seeing the entire event. As soon as they let people back up to the mountain, we all went up there and saw the devastation. I think my dad cried a little as we were all heartbroken with the amount of ruin left where homes, trees, animals were, just months ago, present and thriving. All that was left was quiet and gray.

"I pay my taxes!" Say no more, we'll tell the mountain not to blow.

I remember visiting Mt St Helens about 1984 and all these people were talking about how all the animal life and vegetation is never coming back. Went there again 10 years later, animals everywhere, trees etc. Went back two years ago, can't even tell where it happened if you never knew. To think that nature can't handle a volcano.

This is one of the Better Documentarys of what happened to Mt St Helen's and the areas. R.I.P. to those who lost there lives and livelihoods.

Seems like I watch all old programs like this they are just so much better than the stuff they make to day. Maybe it's a sign I'm getting old 😆 but I think im right more time & effort put into old stuff.

I was at Mount St. Helen's in the 70's and Spirit Lake was beautiful

I was camping at the bottom when it blew!!!!!!!never forget it

I was living in Vancouver WA. In 1980. I was 12 yo. I remember before the May 18th eruption there was an earthquake and it made them close school for the rest of the year. On may 18th we were helping a friend move and could see the full ash plume from the freeway. Never forget it. It was such a crazy day.

I'm watching this 43 years later, 9/5/2023 this is a very interesting and educational video. I was only 4 ½years old when it erupted.

Harry "like many others, felt that there was nothing to fear"? Bullshit. Harry was just plain fearless and was ready for what was to come. Godspeed brother!

I watched it erupt from a hilltop viewpoint near Olympia. The prevailing winds blew most of the ash east towards Yakima, but we definitely got a dusting. I collected a bunch of the ash and, as I was doing a ceramics class in high school, used the ash to make a glaze for some of my pots. It came out of the kiln with a deep earthy dark green flecked with black and gray accents. Still one of the better souvenirs of the event.

May 18th 1980 I was 18...in The military in Germany...I remember hearing about it.

God bless each and everyone of the rescuers! What brave people. I hope the kindness has been returned ten fold in their lives! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Amazing how nature repairs in ways we can't comprehend.

We lived on the west side of the mountain, near Kelso, about 13 miles south of the entrance to the Spirit Lake Highway. We woke the morning of the eruption to an earthquake. We later realized we didn't hear the actual explosion, even though our country home was not far from the mountain...I'd say about fifty miles "as the crow flies". When I went outside, it was "raining" warm mud. Wet ash covered the ground like gray snow...eerily quiet. The cattle and horse seemed bewildered...the only grass visible in our pasture was under a lone fir tree. After providing hay and fresh water for the animals, we made our way to a favorite spot in the hills to the east in our old Datsun pickup (Mom, Dad, our two young boys and a St. Bernard in the small cab). We rounded the hill, passing the point at which we were accustomed to having our first view of the familiar ice cream cone-shaped summit of Mt. St. Helens in all her glory. To our shock and amazement, there was no summit. Not until we climbed a few hundred yards farther could we see what was left of "our mountain". Not yet knowing the extent of the devastation, my husband and I felt an immediate sense of loss of a treasured childhood wilderness-paradise; and at the same time a strange inability to comprehend the gargantuan force of nature that took her from us.

I was in Iowa at the time of this. We watched it on the television set. We only had 4 tv channels back in them days.

Devastating but the comeback is remarkable. Well done piece.

Thanks...history lane for a 75 year old

I wasn't born until 1984, but I have lived very close to this mountain for most of my life and still do. I see it every time it's clear outside, all our swimming holes on the Toutle river still have ash Banks and evidence of the mountain all around. I still never get tired of watching videos like this.

I still have this documentary... It is actually the only VHS tape that I kept and still own to this day.. it was the only one I couldn't get rid of. Truly a pleasure to see this in such great quality. We all know how VHS tapes look nowadays. Lol

I was only 8 but lived in Raineer when it erupted. We could watch it blowing and there was ash everywhere. My mom collected some

Really excellent documentary. I was in my senior high school year when Mount St Helen’s erupted. We had ash falling in out east central Alberta town. It made a big impression on me. God bless all of those poor souls that perished in the eruption.

I flew past Mt. St. Helens in 1975 on a flight from Boise to Seattle. She was a beautiful mountain all covered in snow. She had a perfect cone shape like Mt. Fujiyama in Japan. I was awestruck. When it blew I thought, "Darn that was the prettiest mountain, too bad it's gone."

To those who have witnessed this event, you have seen one of earths many beautiful spectacles. Helen woke from her slumber and she was angry. I may have not seen Helen blow her temper but I have witnessed a tragic event as it unfolded in 2001. I only have to reach into my mental filing cabinet and pull out the folder that hold the images, sounds of that fateful day. RIP to those who have perished in both events.

I remember the event well. Watching the news reports, marveling at the sheer power unleashed, and praying for those caught in the cataclysm. Then one or two days later the effects of the eruption became evident half a continent away here in Kansas. A strange other worldly orange sky as the ash cloud dispersed around the globe. The power of nature is awesome. To be both held in awe, and respect.

Great storytelling. I liked the voice of the female narrator. The Mount Saint Helens eruption has fascinated me ever since I knew about it. From the Philippines

I was born in Portland and grew up in the surrounding areas. My mother used to point out Mt St Helens and referred to it as "The Snow Cone Mountain" because, with its rounded top, it looked similar to an ice cream cone....and I vividly recall what it used to look like. In the 50's, we moved to CA, but when it blew in 1980, shortly thereafter my wife and I rode a motorcycle to have a view. Police barriers would only let us get so close, for it was still belching steam. I bought a one gallon container, scraped up some ash, (which was everywhere) and transported it back home. For years I looked at it and then finally dumped it on my garden. Did I notice any difference? Why, yes, since you asked....tomatoes the size of my feet with a similar shape!

Amazing that its been 40 years ago today. May 18th, 1980 to May 18th, 2020. I never get tired of watching and learning about the eruption. Incredible what the power of nature can do to change a landscape in seconds.

The name Helen scard me too death ❤

May 5th 2020 and I just watched this video.. I lived in Vancouver that year after graduating from Hudsons Bay HS in 79.. My dad and I sat on our roof in Hazel Dell and took many pictures the saturday before it blew. But what I wanted to share was, the Feb. before that Sunday in May, a group of us went backpacking up St Helens to a small lake.(don't know if it even had a name), and spent a couple days fishing. We were catching some of the largest trout we had ever seen. After the first eruptions we figured it out that the very old and very large fish were coming up to the colder water. I was actually in church when it blew, but watched from the parking lot there at Vancouver 1st church on Main St. next to the Safeway. We collected some ash but the front all went to the north and east. Thanks for letting me share

It's incredible how nature responds after a devastating disaster such as this eruption of Mount St Helens. Recovery is a miracle that the earth can survive. Yes somethings will die, but! many things will recover and it takes time.

Harry Truman was definitely a unique old fellow, but there is one part of his story that upsets me, particularly: taking the risk of staying put would have been okay, if it had only affected him personally. However, all those poor cats who were his pets had no choice. They died with him, because of him. It's always them that I have felt the most sorry for in his part of this tragedy.

So interesting to watch this after all these years.

I was five years old when she erupted in 1980. We were camping somewhere in the North Cascade Mountains. All I remember is my daddy packing us up quickly and I-90 was closed and we had to drive home the long way.

I was 11 when Mt St Helens blew her top! Most awesome show of how powerful nature really is & how fragile human life is. Mr. Truman was a stubborn ass for not leaving the mountain when he had a chance , now he's buried under mud. so sad.

When Mt. St. Helens exploded, I was stationed at Ellsworth AFB, SD (Strategic Air Command (SAC)). The base sent all the bombers and tankers to other SAC bases out of harms way...It was amazing watching all those planes take off....NATURE WILL ALWAYS WIN.....

THANKS FOR THIS VIDEO MOTHER NATURE HAS NO RULES

The host/narrator is awesome. I need to find more docos where she's the narrator. So professional and intelligent.

I don't think Harry thought there was nothing to fear at all, I think he was willing to become part of the universe once again on his terms, which if that included the eruption, so be it. Definitely admire his logic and emotional perception.

I was there on 5-18-80 . One thing they never tell you is that the entire ash cloud lit up with flashes , as the gasses exploded within , bringing the cloud to a HUGE lightening show ! I remember Harry Truman as he was interviewed .

*My father and I collected grass with ash on it in the state of Western Kentucky. Watched it on our television back then.* 😊

I was an undergraduate student from California at WAzzu. I will never forget this moment in time. ❤

I actually have a old pill bottle full of the volcanic ash. Its super fine, no chunks at all in it. The previous owner of the house was there when the ash was falling. He collected a few containers and left us one. It has tape on it with The words "St.Helens,Washington Volcanic Ash May 18th 1980, Clyde S. Brown"

I was living in Japan when my Dad sent me a polaroid shot of the dark ash cloud heading in the direction of Thorp, WA where our farm was. This was an excellent documentary. Very well done in all aspects of a very important event in Washington State's natural history.

I was living in Portland at the time and remember it vividly. Able to see it was awesome

Still feels so recent. Knowing how long it's been makes me feel a tad old. We had been married 2 years when this happened. Amazing.

Without the Corps of Engineers, much of what you see in the PBS documentary would be dramatically different. The Toutle River flowing out of Spirit Lake was stopped by the avalanche that formed a natural “dam” that raised the height of the lake by 200 feet. As the lake rose, there was immediate danger of the lake overflowing the loose material in the dam which would have caused the dam to quickly scour and suddenly collapse. The Corps drilled a tunnel in the side of the mountain with adjacent outlet works to provide a controlled outflow, thus saving Spirit Lake from collapse and another devastating, if not deadly flood event downstream. This was completed in 1985. Then the Corps of Engineers built Mount St. Helen's Sediment Retention Structure (dam) that impounded water on the Toutle River several miles downstream of the volcano. This created a lake that slowed down the river flow and allowed the voluminous tons amounts of suspended sediment to fall out of suspension. Water flowing through the outlet works of the dam was now clear and provided for the return of anadromous fish up to the dam. With a newly built fish collection facility, the Corps transported returning fish upstream and restored the fish runs. This was completed by 1989. Both the tunnel and dam cost over $80 million dollars, yet received not a single word in this PBS report. Terribly sad.

It was a gorgeous day. I was fishing in a raft on a Cascade High Lake 150 miles South and heard the explosion but didn’t know what it was until I got home a couple days later. The sound travelled down the Cascade range. My Dad was a professor of Volcanology in Eugene and it was the highlight of his career. We hardly saw him for days. Some of his graduate students were near the mountain helping with research.

An excellent film. I remember when Mt St Helens erupted, when I was a in primary school. It was in the news all over the world and quite a shocking and memorable event.

I was born and adopted from Yakima, WA to my family in Denver in 1977 and my brother was adopted in October of 1980 also from Yakima. I'll never forget seeing the ash fall from the sky in Denver.

I love the segment about reforestation, both the natural and the manmade.

A fine example of what television programmes should be like! 👍🏻👍🏻

Thank you. I so enjoyed that.

I flew over St. Helens the Sunday before it blew from a meeting in Anchorage… Grew up in the GNW… then we left for Atlanta Georgia… eventually landed in Orlando Florida. My Children have flown by helicopter into the Mt. St. Helens crater… flown over the devastation of the eruption… but still do not have concept of what took place on that Sunday…. This Preso will help!❤️

Kudos to to Alison Kartevold. A fine documentary. And, a perfect example of how the quality of information and the consumable but not flamboyant way it is relayed to the viewer by public broadcasting is far and away better than commercial television.

Those first assistance army hospital tents also took care of some injured BFs on this occasion.... Thanks for sharing!

Peasly Canyon, Federal Way,WA we got covered in ASH ,I was around 8 but still remember the dark grey sky .... WASHINGTON STATE PEOPLE you truly are great people ,strong and steadfast ❤

I lived in Washington for a while and visits the mountain many times. This website was very very interesting and I learned more info than I had known from the past. Thank you so much. Miss Washington so very much.

I was up there about 3 months after the blast. I ran a backhoe in the red zone. I was digging out roads ditches, looking for cars, bodies Nd what ever I dug up. I found a lot of vehicles thank God only one body. I did not sleep for a month after that one. We stayed at yale Washington and it was a 2 hr drive up there every day work 12 he's and a 2 he drive home every day. 7 days a week. We got 29 a hr from 0 to 40 hrs. 40 to 60 was time and half. 60 to 80 was double time and 80 to 100 was triple time and everything over 100 was 5 times. I made really good money in 1980. The only time we got time off was they had probes stuck all over the mountain and any time it hickuped of rumpled they send a helo out of Vancouver and send us home. If it happen at 8 in the morning we got sent home for the rest of the day with pay. I was there working for about 1 1/2 would still be there but job ran out( federal government job) best paying job I ever had. Only thing is the amount of rain it rained there. 120 inch a year on average. People there dont tan they rust.

I was in Vancouver on May 18th 1980 driving north at 8:30 am and saw the eruption; It was awe inspiring. 10 years later I was up on the north side with a local Boy Scout troop planting seedlings. In the early 1960s i worked at a Church Youth camp on Spirit Lake and have many pleasant memories of hiking to Leta Lake, timberline on St. Helens. I am pleased to see the rebirth of the forest.

May all who lost their lives R.I.P. Mother Nature is beautiful but scary at the same time.

I was 10 years old and I lived in Medical Lake, Wa. Which I'd 15 min outside of Spokane. Wa. And 200 miles from Mt. St. Helen's. I was outside playing with my grandmother's dog. It was a gorgeous Sunday and about 12pm I watched the ash cloud roll in and it went from day light to midnight black. I will never forget going to the Tuttle River after the eruption with my other grandmother and what was left of the river was indescribable.

On The day of the big eruption, 5/18/80, I had a massive car wreck that put me in the hospital for 8 days. Much of that time was spent watching the drama of the eruption unfold in real time. I've always felt connected to that mountain! I enjoyed this

A fascinating documentary hosted by a beautiful lady!

I'm 44 from the east coast. My life's journey has me living in Oregon. My sailboat is at St Helens, OR. Every time im out sailing i wonder how awesome it must have been to be out there sailing the Columbia when that happened. Rip the 57 that died. I love the power that is nature and celebrating the moments of history

Blew up on my birthday turned 17 and was in boot camp!

Today is May 18, 2020. It's been 40 years since the eruption. I watched it with my neighbors in the Kent valley. It's still the most bizarre thing I've ever seen. A very sad day for those who lost their lives....

Would love to visit this mountain.

I will never forget that morning. I awoken to my poor sweet Mother crying her eyes out it was her 45th Birthday and she was just devastated from the destruction caused by this Volcano! So Very Proud to be Your Daughter! R.I.P.

I have watched a few documentaries regarding Mt St Helens. This is my favorite. Well done. This is a gem.

An amazing event! I wasn't there, but it is forever etched in my memory. RIP Harry!

God bless Harry Truman! He knew what he was facing, he knew what a volcano could do - he knew what he would face if he had left - a homeless old man, withering away in a state supported old-folks home, if he was lucky. Harry chose for courage, for Life, so long as it shall be. Harry's choice is most admirable, given that it was a choice, not an accident! I can still remember "the day the mountain blew". Where were you? What do you remember?

Incredible, what can transform in just one day. I remember that.

A+ documentary, very well done; one of the best information rich science documentaries I've seen. Mt. Saint Helen's is a beautiful mountain and amazing how she literally rose from the ashes and created such amazing natural features. Plus, she is a living breathing science laboratory and she's very talkative, from a nature point-of-view.

I remember the DJ who said, "You don't have to come to Washington for vacation. The state of Washington is coming to you."

I was 10 and in TN and I remember it. Finally got to visit in 2023. Absolutely amazing. The distances are so deceptive.

1980? I was 9 yrs old. Where was I, back then?

I was 10 years old when Mt St Helen's eruption. I'm 49 now, its been almost 40 years ago. My family and I were living in Olympia Washington. Cars stopped working, I remember we had to cover our mouths. It was terrible. Everything covered in ash. Very eerie feeling I had back then.

i watched the documentary and noticed 547 had made the thumb-down sign. i wonder what they didn't liked about it... poor people.

I was living in Olympia when Mt.St.Helens went off. I was with friends up on a hill in Oly.

I never get enough of that story. Having said that, people and wild life suffered a lot. Everything was changed after that. This documentary is very good!

I was 23 and lived in Portland. I was on the roof of our apartment and watched in awe. She became “my mountain” and I have witnessed every eruption since. I love that mountain.

Today, 18th May, is the 40th anniversary of the Mt. St. Helens eruption.

I was born and raised in Seattle and was 22 years old when St Helens blew and I remember it vividly.

On That Sunday, I was sitting in bed, drinking coffee and reading the newspaper when my two children excitedly ran inside to tell me that Mt. St. Helens was erupting. There had already been many steam eruptions and two small ash eruptions that necessitated clean-up, no easy task. As. I had not heard a thing, I thought that one of those was what the kids had seen but I was dead wrong. From my bedroom window the peak of the mountain was hidden but that day I didn’t need to see it. An immensely huge roiling column of black and dark purple ash rising from it and reaching incredibly high into the sky was awe inspiring and frightening. I had loved St. Helens the first time I saw it years earlier. It was a gorgeous mountain known as the Fujiyama of the West but locally and lovingly called The Lady. The views on a drive up the mountain in winter felt as though we were moving through various paintings such as might be seen on Christmas cards. One of my first thoughts that day was a question-what is going on under my feet right now? When the excitement finally died down and life began to go back to normal, I felt bereaved. For so long I had watched and visited Mt. St. Helens in all seasons. For me, she was a presence, always there and only rarely without a gleaming white cap of snow. Early winter was special as the mountain slowly lost her snow coat, the weather changed, the rains came, dripping gray skies, lingered for weeks. We waited

I was there. The ash was overwhelming. I was coming up from the South, and that was a good thing. But it was like driving through a blizzard. You had to stop every few miles to remove your carb air filter and pound the pumice out, to keep the engine from overheating. It was crazy. The power of Mother Nature.

We enjoyed that. From WI living in Japan. Home during the corona virus outbreak

In 1980 I was living in the Tri-cities. It went dark at noon as we received a considerable amount of ashfall.

Would’ve loved to have seen this in person, what an incredible event. Just shows how much humans are not in control

Woke up that morning watching St. Helens erupt out my bedroom window. I was thrilled! Ash was falling around the house. I still have ash I collected that day. I wasn't thrilled seeing the devastation and over 50 people dying. Still the most incredible day of my life.

The video misquoted Harry Truman, they said “he like so many others thought they had nothing to fear” Harry didn’t say I’ll be OK or nothing will happen to me, he said I’m not leaving, if the mountain blows and takes my home I’m like a ship captain and will go down with the ship.

I gave birth to my son at 2:45 a.m. on May 18, 1980 in Chewelah, Washington. Mt. St. Helens erupted at 8:32 a.m. The ash flow hit about noon and we watched the world turn gray. Definitely a memorable day for many reasons!

Why does this have 1k dislikes, this video was fantastic. Thanks

Thank you for mentioning all the wildlife that lost their lives as well. They are usually not remembered.

40 years ago on this very day. Gods speed to those who died

...Thank you for posting. Thank you Mr. Hagerman for your service.

I love in Alberta Canada and remember I was 9 at the time and cars outside being covered in ash from the eruption.

I was 6yrs old and living in the mountains of southwest Virginia. I remember that summer as being cold and remember the ash covering our cars.