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(rumbling)
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NARRATOR: An unforgettable dayin America's history.
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OFFICER: We had a major
eruption occurring at 8:32
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00:00:13,710 --> 00:00:16,310
approximately this morning
on Mount St. Helens.
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MAN: The top of the mountain
seems to have been blown away.
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MAN: This was a game changer.
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NARRATOR: The eruptionof Mount St. Helens
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was the first of its kindever filmed.
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The volcano unleashedfour super-sized cataclysms.
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First, the world's largestlandslide ever recorded.
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Then, an explosion equivalentto 500 Hiroshima bombs.
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MAN: It was like you were
being cremated alive.
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NARRATOR: Lethal mudflows.
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SHERIFF: Get off the bridge!
(whistles)
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Come on! Get over here!
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NARRATOR: And enough ashto cover 12 states.
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(thud)
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40 years on, digitallyremastered archive,
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eyewitness accounts,and animated photographs
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reveal why this wasthe USA's deadliest volcano.
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MAN: I really believed I had no
chance of living through this.
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♪ ♪
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NARRATOR: Welcome toMount St. Helens, before 1980.
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ANNOUNCER: A havenfor recreational activities
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and youth camps.
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A place as close to heavenas one could get.
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NARRATOR: The snow-capped giant
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had slumberedfor over a century,
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but that was about to change.
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♪ ♪
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ANCHORMAN: There are
rumblings of something big
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about to happen
in Washington State.
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NARRATOR: Deep beneath thenorthwest corner of the U.S.,
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the giant was slowly waking.
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REPORTER:An earthquake hitting4.3 on the Richter scale
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shook the mountain.
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REPORTER: The volcanois spewing a steady stream
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of ash, smoke, and steam.
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REPORTER: And experts saya major explosion is overdue.
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NARRATOR: The question was,
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when wouldthe big eruption arrive?
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Don Swanson, a volcanologist
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with theU.S. Geological Survey,
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was sent into assess the danger.
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DON SWANSON:
We're really sort of fumbling
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as to exactly what this means.
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You could see that there were
cracks surrounding the crater,
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where the summit had collapsed.
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The top of the volcano
was a very unstable place,
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and it was breaking up.
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NARRATOR: Mount St. Helenshad erupted before.
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It lies on one of the earth'smost geologically active zones.
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ANNOUNCER:A huge linear fault system
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melts millions of tons of rock.
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ANNOUNCER:Every so often, magmarises up into the mountain,
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and the mountainis ready to erupt.
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NARRATOR: Within a dayof the first sign of ash,
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scientists were monitoringthe volcano around the clock.
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A state of emergencywas declared.
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DIXY LEE RAY: Don't go
to Mount St. Helens.
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Don't try to get as close
to the mountain as possible.
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REPORTER:Roadblocks have been set up.
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The public is prohibitedfrom entering.
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WOMAN: How would you feel?
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We're paying taxes, and we'd
like to use our property.
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I'm not afraid!
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NARRATOR: Deputy SheriffGeorge Barker was on duty.
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GEORGE BARKER: Right now people
are coming in at their own risk,
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and they're signing in and out
at this checkpoint.
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I was a brand-new deputy,
and now all of a sudden
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they were talking about eruption
and poison gases
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and lava
and this kind of thing.
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It was all unknown,
and it was like, wow,
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a real adventure.
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NARRATOR: Authoritiesmarked out a restriction zone
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and evacuatedhundreds of people.
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MAN: You're gonna have to go,and the faster, the better.
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One time, you gotta go!
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NARRATOR: But one residentwouldn't budge--Harry Truman.
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He lived at Spirit Lake,inside the restriction zone.
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HARRY TRUMAN: Spirit Lake
and Mount St. Helens is my life.
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Folks,
I've lived there 50 years.
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It's a part of me.
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BARKER: Truman thought,
this is gonna be lava
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coming rolling down
the side of the mountain.
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You simply run away from it,
you drive away from it.
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TRUMAN: I'll get in my yacht
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and get out on the lake,
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get away from that lava
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if it ever comes down
this far, yeah.
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NARRATOR: Most of the world'svolcanoes erupt upwards,
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out of the top.
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But instead,Mount St. Helens would erupt
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in a wayrarely witnessed before.
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♪ ♪
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On the north face, geologistsnoticed an ominous bulge.
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In a matter of weeks,it would expand by 450 feet.
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SWANSON: These changes
were unprecedented.
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There was more and more magma
intruding into the volcano
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and pushing
the north side outward.
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It was a really hectic time.
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NARRATOR: Don's teamincluded a young geologist
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called David Johnston.
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DAVID JOHNSTON:
Its historic eruptions
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have been very explosive.
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The initial phases
would produce ashfall
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all over
southwestern Washington.
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NARRATOR: David wouldmonitor the bulge
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from a ridgecalled South Coldwater.
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SWANSON: We were hoping
that our monitoring
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would show an increase
in rate of the bulge movement
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or something
that we could use to say
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that the volcano was really
building up to a culmination,
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but we never saw that.
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NARRATOR: For five weeks,
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the volcanointermittently rumbled
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and spewed gases and ash.
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REPORTER: As scientistsfumble for the truth,
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everyone else is fumblingto get in on the act
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and make a fast buck.
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♪ What kind of volcanomerely burps up ash? ♪
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♪ We want lava, we want lava ♪
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♪ Bubby dooby dooday ♪
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REPORTER: It drawspeople of all sorts.
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They come filled with wonder.
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MAN: That was just unbelievable!
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MAN: I wanna see it blow.
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(laughs) It'd be great.
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REPORTER:Sightseers crowded remotelogging roads for a view.
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Those who tried hard enoughcould always find a way in.
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NARRATOR: The eruption wouldarrive with little warning
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and reach far beyondthe restriction zone.
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(airplane engine starts)
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Geologist Dorothy Stoffelheaded into the sky,
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towards Mount St. Helens.
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DOROTHY STOFFEL:
It was just a beautiful day.
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It was so serene.
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NARRATOR: She'd beengranted permission
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to photograph the volcanofrom the air.
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STOFFEL: I thought,
it's become dormant again,
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and we missed all the activity.
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But on the north side
of the mountain,
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we could see water
from melting snow and ice,
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as though the mountain
was weeping on the north side.
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We just had no sense
of anything going to happen.
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NARRATOR: The meltwaterhad fast-tracked the volcano
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to its deadly destiny.
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♪ ♪
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On the ground,7,000 feet below Dorothy,
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a student, Catherine Hickson,
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and her husbandhad been camping.
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CATHERINE HICKSON: We just had
this beautiful panoramic view
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of the volcano.
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Really not much was going on.
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The volcano was very quiet,
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but the dogs
acted very strangely.
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You often hear
about how animals react
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prior to either an earthquake
or an eruption or whatnot.
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NARRATOR:Catherine and her husband
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were nine milesto the east of the volcano.
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Resident Harry Truman wasat his home on Spirit Lake.
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David Johnstonmonitored the bulge
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from South Coldwater Ridge.
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David and Catherine were
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outside the restriction zone.
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Harry was inside it.
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The U.S. Geological Surveyin Washington State.
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SWANSON: Suddenly
the seismographs went bonkers.
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The needles just started
jumping all over the place.
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NARRATOR: An earthquake hitting5.1 on the Richter scale
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ripped throughthe volcano's core.
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SWANSON: I'm not sure I've
ever been so excited before.
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NARRATOR: The quake set off achain of life-changing events,
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all of them unstoppable.
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The volcanic monster had woken.
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Making one last passin her plane,
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Dorothy photographedthe first moments of disaster.
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♪ ♪
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STOFFEL: Nothing is happening,
and then all of a sudden,
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the ice began to fall
into the summit.
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And I got so excited.
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NARRATOR: But Dorothywas right above a volcano
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about to unleashits first cataclysm.
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STOFFEL: The instant
that I took that second picture,
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the most bizarre thing happened.
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We could see this fracture
opening up.
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NARRATOR: She photographedthe moment of collapse.
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Meltwater had penetratedthe north face,
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helping to destabilizethe bulge.
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STOFFEL: The whole north side
of the mountain,
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it became almost fluid,
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like someone was slicing
the mountain in half.
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NARRATOR: Catherine Hickson'shusband also took pictures.
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They reveal the start ofthe largest recorded landslide
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on Earth.
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HICKSON: The landslide
was an amazing event.
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The mountain is disintegrating
and is moving.
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It was like watching,
on a grand scale,
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this giant wave.
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Essentially the mountain
falling apart before our eyes.
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NARRATOR: 3.3 billioncubic yards of rock and ice
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hurtled down the volcano.
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STOFFEL: You expect
mountains to erupt.
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You don't expect mountains
to fall apart.
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NARRATOR:The landslide triggered
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something far more powerful.
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STOFFEL: I thought we were dead.
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♪ ♪
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NARRATOR: An explosionburst out of the north face.
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♪ ♪
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STOFFEL: I was looking directly
down on the blast coming up.
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I really thought we were
going to be blown apart.
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NARRATOR: Photographerscaptured the instantaneous
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pressure release of the magma.
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00:13:06,070 --> 00:13:09,470
Water inside the volcanoflashed to steam.
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More than a thousandfoldincrease in volume,
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catapulting the eruptioninto a massive explosion.
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HICKSON: We just saw
this writhing, boiling cloud,
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blacks and grays
just shooting out to the north.
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NARRATOR: Scientists call ita pyroclastic surge--
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a blast of rock, ice, and gas
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00:13:37,070 --> 00:13:42,550
superheated upto 660 degrees Fahrenheit,
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accelerating to speedsover 600 miles per hour.
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HICKSON:
This eruption was getting
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00:13:50,710 --> 00:13:52,590
bigger and bigger and bigger,
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00:13:52,670 --> 00:13:57,630
faster and faster than anything
that I could have anticipated.
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00:14:02,550 --> 00:14:07,150
NARRATOR: The blast threatenedto engulf Dorothy's plane.
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STOFFEL: The pilot put
our airplane into a nosedive
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00:14:11,230 --> 00:14:13,270
to try to outrun the blast.
230
00:14:18,470 --> 00:14:23,790
I can't emphasize enough
how quickly the blast developed
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00:14:23,870 --> 00:14:28,230
into enormous proportions.
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I thought, "We're going
to disappear from this earth,
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00:14:31,470 --> 00:14:34,590
and my mother's never gonna
know what happened to me."
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00:14:37,110 --> 00:14:39,310
NARRATOR: The blastwas visible to climbers
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on peaks over 30 miles away,
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00:14:44,070 --> 00:14:49,390
an explosion equivalentto 500 Hiroshima bombs.
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The pilot's maneuversaved their lives.
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STOFFEL: The whole experience
was very eerie and strange.
239
00:15:05,270 --> 00:15:10,470
It was a sense of awe,
wonderment.
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00:15:10,550 --> 00:15:15,790
It was amazing that so much
earth could be destroyed
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00:15:15,870 --> 00:15:18,190
in such a brief instant.
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NARRATOR: Two catastrophicevents were in motion.
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One, the massive landslide
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traveledover 100 miles an hour,
245
00:15:34,350 --> 00:15:39,710
eventually spilling 14 miles
down the Toutle Valley.
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00:15:39,790 --> 00:15:43,550
And two, the pyroclastic surge.
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In two minutes,it covered almost seven miles,
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00:15:47,390 --> 00:15:49,750
destroying Spirit Lake
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00:15:49,830 --> 00:15:54,550
and engulfingSouth Coldwater Ridge.
250
00:15:54,630 --> 00:15:57,950
Harry Truman was killed,
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00:15:58,030 --> 00:16:01,870
buried beneath150 feet of debris.
252
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A similar fatefor David Johnston
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00:16:08,790 --> 00:16:13,590
at his monitoring post.
254
00:16:13,670 --> 00:16:16,150
SWANSON: It really hit home hard
255
00:16:16,230 --> 00:16:21,270
that we'd lost a colleague
and a friend,
256
00:16:21,350 --> 00:16:25,590
and, and that's when,
that's when the tears began.
257
00:16:25,670 --> 00:16:30,030
♪ ♪
258
00:16:33,150 --> 00:16:35,590
NARRATOR: The sizeand direction of the eruption
259
00:16:35,670 --> 00:16:38,710
made it much more destructivethan predicted.
260
00:16:42,990 --> 00:16:46,390
Mount St. Helenshad exploded sideways,
261
00:16:46,470 --> 00:16:51,750
the first lateral blastever recorded in real time.
262
00:16:56,790 --> 00:17:00,110
In their car, Catherine,her husband, and their dogs
263
00:17:00,190 --> 00:17:03,870
were trying to outrunthe growing blast.
264
00:17:03,950 --> 00:17:05,830
HICKSON:
I was looking backwards,
265
00:17:05,910 --> 00:17:09,110
basically seeing
this incredible cloud
266
00:17:09,190 --> 00:17:15,910
just moving much faster
than we were, in fact, moving.
267
00:17:15,990 --> 00:17:22,030
It was the most terrifying
moments of the entire eruption.
268
00:17:22,110 --> 00:17:24,270
I knew it would be hot,
269
00:17:24,350 --> 00:17:26,830
it would potentially
suffocate us,
270
00:17:26,910 --> 00:17:28,630
and that would be the end.
271
00:17:30,950 --> 00:17:33,670
NARRATOR: And for some, it was.
272
00:17:40,670 --> 00:17:42,470
NARRATOR:Catherine and her husband
273
00:17:42,550 --> 00:17:44,430
were far enough eastof the volcano
274
00:17:44,510 --> 00:17:46,630
to escape with their lives.
275
00:17:49,190 --> 00:17:51,990
HICKSON: It was a feeling
of incredible relief,
276
00:17:52,070 --> 00:17:54,710
but also incredible wonder.
277
00:17:54,790 --> 00:18:01,070
Like, what we had witnessed
was truly phenomenal.
278
00:18:01,150 --> 00:18:04,070
NARRATOR: The pyroclastic surgewas spreading north,
279
00:18:04,150 --> 00:18:07,110
far beyondthe restriction zone.
280
00:18:11,630 --> 00:18:17,910
♪ ♪
281
00:18:17,990 --> 00:18:19,870
Minutes before the eruption,
282
00:18:19,950 --> 00:18:24,870
logger Jim Scymanky felledtrees with two co-workers,
283
00:18:24,950 --> 00:18:27,590
while another logger,Jose Dias,
284
00:18:27,670 --> 00:18:30,830
rested in a nearby truck.
285
00:18:30,910 --> 00:18:34,190
JIM SCYMANKY:
A beautiful morning, gorgeous.
286
00:18:34,270 --> 00:18:38,150
We didn't hear
too much wildlife, though.
287
00:18:38,230 --> 00:18:41,710
NARRATOR: Jim was over 12 milesfrom the volcano,
288
00:18:41,790 --> 00:18:46,590
outside the restriction zone.
289
00:18:46,670 --> 00:18:49,950
He had no idea thathe was about to get caught
290
00:18:50,030 --> 00:18:53,230
in a blasthurtling towards him.
291
00:18:53,310 --> 00:18:56,270
(boom)
292
00:18:56,350 --> 00:18:58,310
(beeping)
293
00:18:58,390 --> 00:19:00,990
(boom)
294
00:19:05,630 --> 00:19:07,030
SCYMANKY: As we were working,
295
00:19:07,110 --> 00:19:11,310
we heard somebody
screaming and yelling.
296
00:19:11,390 --> 00:19:16,110
The next thing we saw
was Jose Dias
297
00:19:16,190 --> 00:19:19,990
come running down
through the woods, screaming,
298
00:19:20,070 --> 00:19:22,070
"The volcano's exploding!"
299
00:19:22,150 --> 00:19:24,150
(screaming)
300
00:19:24,230 --> 00:19:26,510
We couldn't believe it.
We didn't hear anything.
301
00:19:26,590 --> 00:19:28,990
And then I turned back around,
302
00:19:29,070 --> 00:19:32,590
and that's when I heard
this huge roaring sound
303
00:19:32,670 --> 00:19:34,390
coming through the woods.
304
00:19:34,470 --> 00:19:39,350
NARRATOR: Approaching them, thesuperheated pyroclastic surge.
305
00:19:39,430 --> 00:19:40,790
SCYMANKY: It sounded like
freight trains coming through.
306
00:19:40,870 --> 00:19:42,150
It was just a huge roar.
307
00:19:42,230 --> 00:19:45,190
You couldn't hear anything.
Deafening.
308
00:19:45,270 --> 00:19:48,070
Unbelievable.
309
00:19:48,150 --> 00:19:52,150
And this thing was so fast,
it just overtook you in seconds.
310
00:19:52,230 --> 00:19:55,630
NARRATOR: The blasthit the four loggers.
311
00:19:55,710 --> 00:20:00,430
SCYMANKY:
It just turned pitch-black.
312
00:20:00,510 --> 00:20:06,190
NARRATOR: They were smotheredby superheated gases and ash.
313
00:20:06,270 --> 00:20:09,270
SCYMANKY: We were being
pummeled with God knows what.
314
00:20:09,350 --> 00:20:12,790
It was like you were
being cremated alive.
315
00:20:12,870 --> 00:20:16,710
You know, the pain
was just unreal.
316
00:20:16,790 --> 00:20:19,550
NARRATOR: Deadly quantitiesof pulverized rock
317
00:20:19,630 --> 00:20:21,630
clogged his airways.
318
00:20:21,710 --> 00:20:22,790
SCYMANKY: You couldn't breathe.
319
00:20:22,870 --> 00:20:24,270
Trying to take a breath
(inhales)
320
00:20:24,350 --> 00:20:26,270
nothing, zero oxygen.
321
00:20:28,630 --> 00:20:31,030
I knew I was gonna die
right there.
322
00:20:36,270 --> 00:20:40,470
NARRATOR: The blast fannednorth, east, and west
323
00:20:40,550 --> 00:20:43,430
for up to 19 miles,
324
00:20:43,510 --> 00:20:47,910
scorching and flatteningeverything it touched.
325
00:20:47,990 --> 00:20:51,470
Barely four minutesinto the eruption,
326
00:20:51,550 --> 00:20:56,270
it's estimated the volcanohad taken more than 40 lives,
327
00:20:56,350 --> 00:20:59,790
some of the first recordedfatalities from a volcano
328
00:20:59,870 --> 00:21:01,950
in the continental U.S.
329
00:21:09,470 --> 00:21:13,390
At the same time, a youngnews cameraman, David Crockett,
330
00:21:13,470 --> 00:21:17,030
was making his getaway by car
331
00:21:17,110 --> 00:21:20,070
five mileswest of the mountain.
332
00:21:20,150 --> 00:21:21,990
He was about to get trapped
333
00:21:22,070 --> 00:21:24,870
by the volcano'sthird catastrophe--
334
00:21:24,950 --> 00:21:28,110
deadly mudflowsknown as lahars.
335
00:21:31,030 --> 00:21:35,790
(rumbling)
336
00:21:43,270 --> 00:21:44,430
DAVID CROCKETT:
I thought, oh, here we go,
337
00:21:44,510 --> 00:21:47,190
it's just
a normal eruption again,
338
00:21:47,270 --> 00:21:50,230
and I'll have my footage
in 15 minutes
339
00:21:50,310 --> 00:21:52,230
and be back home by lunch.
340
00:21:52,310 --> 00:21:55,910
I was not expecting
what happened, absolutely not.
341
00:21:58,310 --> 00:22:01,190
Right in front of me,
there was just this explosion
342
00:22:01,270 --> 00:22:03,950
of mud and trees and rocks.
343
00:22:04,030 --> 00:22:06,990
I had no place to drive.
344
00:22:07,070 --> 00:22:09,990
NARRATOR: He started filming.
345
00:22:10,070 --> 00:22:11,510
Heat from the eruption
346
00:22:11,590 --> 00:22:14,230
had meltedMount St. Helens' ice cap,
347
00:22:14,310 --> 00:22:18,830
unleashing billions of gallonsof water from the summit,
348
00:22:18,910 --> 00:22:21,470
creating lethal lahars,
349
00:22:21,550 --> 00:22:25,590
thick with volcanic debrisand ash.
350
00:22:25,670 --> 00:22:29,230
David needed to escapeto higher ground.
351
00:22:29,310 --> 00:22:31,470
CROCKETT: I knew
I had to try to wade
352
00:22:31,550 --> 00:22:34,790
across this flow in front of me.
353
00:22:34,870 --> 00:22:36,790
Grabbed my camera.
I had no choice.
354
00:22:36,870 --> 00:22:39,550
I waded into it
about thigh deep.
355
00:22:39,630 --> 00:22:42,310
Felt like warm concrete.
356
00:22:42,390 --> 00:22:49,150
I still have trouble believing I
made it across that, but I did.
357
00:22:49,230 --> 00:22:53,350
NARRATOR: But above him,another danger loomed--
358
00:22:53,430 --> 00:22:57,550
a plume of rock and ash.
359
00:22:57,630 --> 00:23:00,150
CROCKETT:
It was just incredible.
360
00:23:00,230 --> 00:23:03,750
It was hard to make sense
out of the scale of it.
361
00:23:03,830 --> 00:23:06,990
This enormous cloud
just blocking out the sky,
362
00:23:07,070 --> 00:23:11,390
just full of purples
and blacks and greens
363
00:23:11,470 --> 00:23:14,110
and lightning everywhere.
364
00:23:14,190 --> 00:23:17,870
NARRATOR:Miles high and growing.
365
00:23:17,950 --> 00:23:21,030
CROCKETT: It was just hard
to wrap my mind around.
366
00:23:21,110 --> 00:23:23,790
It was awesomely beautiful
367
00:23:23,870 --> 00:23:27,030
and awesomely scary
at the same time.
368
00:23:27,110 --> 00:23:29,110
NARRATOR:But the ash was falling,
369
00:23:29,190 --> 00:23:31,670
bringinga suffocating darkness.
370
00:23:31,750 --> 00:23:33,030
CROCKETT:
The valley was literally
371
00:23:33,110 --> 00:23:34,950
disappearing behind me.
372
00:23:35,030 --> 00:23:37,710
NARRATOR: The volcano'sfourth cataclysm was coming.
373
00:23:44,870 --> 00:23:47,150
NARRATOR: Within half an hourof the blast,
374
00:23:47,230 --> 00:23:51,670
the fourth cataclysm--a menacing cloud of ash.
375
00:23:54,990 --> 00:23:56,430
(phone rings)
376
00:23:56,510 --> 00:23:57,430
CROCKETT: This is Davefrom the comms center.
377
00:23:57,510 --> 00:23:59,190
MAN: Hello, Dave.
378
00:23:59,270 --> 00:24:00,390
CROCKETT: Have you had a chanceto look out your windows yet?
379
00:24:00,470 --> 00:24:01,950
MAN: No, not really.
380
00:24:02,030 --> 00:24:03,110
CROCKETT: We gotabout a 40,000-foot cloud
381
00:24:03,190 --> 00:24:04,510
above the top of the mountain
382
00:24:04,590 --> 00:24:09,910
and fillingthe entire county and sky.
383
00:24:09,990 --> 00:24:14,110
NARRATOR: The columnof destruction poured upwards,
384
00:24:14,190 --> 00:24:17,270
more than 12 miles high.
385
00:24:17,350 --> 00:24:20,190
BARKER: This disaster got
bigger and bigger and bigger.
386
00:24:20,270 --> 00:24:22,350
OFFICER: We had a major
eruption occurring at 8:32
387
00:24:22,430 --> 00:24:24,830
approximately this morning
on Mount St. Helens.
388
00:24:24,910 --> 00:24:27,670
BARKER: It kept escalating
as to how many
389
00:24:27,750 --> 00:24:31,230
different agencies
needed to respond.
390
00:24:31,310 --> 00:24:34,190
NARRATOR: Deputy GeorgeBarker's task was to head out
391
00:24:34,270 --> 00:24:36,950
and warn ofthe approaching mudflows.
392
00:24:39,630 --> 00:24:41,270
BARKER: A sergeant came
on the air and said,
393
00:24:41,350 --> 00:24:42,830
"I'm gonna say it plainly,
394
00:24:42,910 --> 00:24:44,750
but there's gonna be
a lot of deaths."
395
00:24:44,830 --> 00:24:48,830
I realized, it's pretty serious.
396
00:24:48,910 --> 00:24:50,310
NEWSCASTER: The news
this morning is of human beings
397
00:24:50,390 --> 00:24:52,270
trying to comprehend
what nature is doing to them.
398
00:24:52,350 --> 00:24:54,910
We're not used to volcanoes
in this country.
399
00:24:54,990 --> 00:24:57,350
REPORTER: It's a frightening
tale of survival in a nightmare.
400
00:24:57,430 --> 00:25:01,990
♪ ♪
401
00:25:02,070 --> 00:25:04,950
CROCKETT:Dear God, this is hell on earthI'm walking through.
402
00:25:05,030 --> 00:25:06,750
Aw, God!
403
00:25:06,830 --> 00:25:08,710
NARRATOR:News cameraman David Crockett
404
00:25:08,790 --> 00:25:11,350
filmedhis terrifying experience
405
00:25:11,430 --> 00:25:14,390
from deep within the ash cloud.
406
00:25:14,470 --> 00:25:17,630
CROCKETT: I can hear themountain behind me rumbling.
407
00:25:17,710 --> 00:25:19,510
I feel the ash now in my eyes.
408
00:25:19,590 --> 00:25:21,990
It's getting very hardto breathe.
409
00:25:22,070 --> 00:25:23,870
It's the strangest feeling.
410
00:25:23,950 --> 00:25:29,750
I really believed I had no
chance of living through this.
411
00:25:29,830 --> 00:25:34,430
NARRATOR: Fine ash particleswere slowly asphyxiating him.
412
00:25:34,510 --> 00:25:35,910
CROCKETT: Oh, dear God!
413
00:25:35,990 --> 00:25:38,670
It was in my nose.
It was in my mouth.
414
00:25:38,750 --> 00:25:42,830
Oh, God,if I can just keep walking.
415
00:25:42,910 --> 00:25:45,750
If there's more air to breathe.
416
00:25:45,830 --> 00:25:47,870
There were constant earthquakes.
417
00:25:47,950 --> 00:25:50,470
The ground was moving
the whole time.
418
00:25:50,550 --> 00:25:54,310
Just about every sensory
experience you could,
419
00:25:54,390 --> 00:25:56,310
you could feel was going on.
420
00:25:56,390 --> 00:25:58,510
(coughing)
421
00:25:58,590 --> 00:26:00,670
I didn't realize how badlyI wanted to live.
422
00:26:04,630 --> 00:26:06,990
NARRATOR: The Forestry Servicesent in a plane
423
00:26:07,070 --> 00:26:09,710
to assess the destruction.
424
00:26:09,790 --> 00:26:12,830
Volcanologist Don Swansonseized the chance
425
00:26:12,910 --> 00:26:17,950
to film the eruptionfrom the air.
426
00:26:18,030 --> 00:26:21,110
SWANSON: Being able
to see it up close
427
00:26:21,190 --> 00:26:24,230
was really quite
an emotional experience for me
428
00:26:24,310 --> 00:26:29,910
because here it was happening
right in, right in front of me.
429
00:26:29,990 --> 00:26:32,910
NARRATOR: His footagereveals the twisting helix
430
00:26:32,990 --> 00:26:36,990
of gas, rock, and ash.
431
00:26:37,070 --> 00:26:38,910
SWANSON: It looked like
the head of a cauliflower,
432
00:26:38,990 --> 00:26:43,110
but much more ominous
and much dirtier.
433
00:26:43,190 --> 00:26:47,270
It was just frustrating
that we couldn't get closer.
434
00:26:47,350 --> 00:26:49,030
NARRATOR: Through the ash,
435
00:26:49,110 --> 00:26:52,830
he glimpsed what was leftof Mount St. Helens.
436
00:26:52,910 --> 00:26:54,230
SWANSON: I said to myself,
437
00:26:54,310 --> 00:26:57,630
"Oh, no, this can't
have happened."
438
00:26:57,710 --> 00:27:02,630
The top of the mountain
was gone.
439
00:27:02,710 --> 00:27:06,590
NARRATOR: The blasthad obliterated 1,300 feet
440
00:27:06,670 --> 00:27:11,630
of rock and icefrom the summit.
441
00:27:11,710 --> 00:27:16,590
The column of ash rose outof a crater over a mile wide.
442
00:27:19,310 --> 00:27:22,430
SWANSON: That destruction
amazed and shocked me.
443
00:27:24,241 --> 00:27:30,550
♪ ♪
444
00:27:36,230 --> 00:27:39,230
NARRATOR: The ash spread.
445
00:27:39,310 --> 00:27:41,670
Day became night.
446
00:27:41,750 --> 00:27:43,430
REPORTER: In Yakima,
Washington, this morning,
447
00:27:43,510 --> 00:27:45,470
85 miles north
of Mount St. Helens,
448
00:27:45,550 --> 00:27:46,950
it was like midnight.
449
00:27:47,030 --> 00:27:48,670
Streetlights
came on automatically,
450
00:27:48,750 --> 00:27:52,230
and many cars stalled when
the ash clogged carburetors.
451
00:27:54,990 --> 00:27:56,750
NARRATOR:Downwind of the volcano,
452
00:27:56,830 --> 00:28:01,790
in the town of Ephrata,townsfolk stopped and stared.
453
00:28:01,870 --> 00:28:04,430
What appeared to bean approaching storm
454
00:28:04,510 --> 00:28:07,030
was the expanding ash cloud,
455
00:28:07,110 --> 00:28:11,070
already 140 milesfrom the volcano.
456
00:28:17,750 --> 00:28:21,270
Somehow, logger Jim Scymankyand his co-workers
457
00:28:21,350 --> 00:28:23,790
had survived.
458
00:28:23,870 --> 00:28:26,470
SCYMANKY: I looked at them,
and I thought, "Oh, my God.
459
00:28:26,550 --> 00:28:28,110
They look horrible."
460
00:28:29,830 --> 00:28:33,270
My clothes were welded
to me basically.
461
00:28:33,350 --> 00:28:36,190
My gloves
were welded to my hands,
462
00:28:36,270 --> 00:28:39,230
and we were in so much pain.
463
00:28:39,310 --> 00:28:42,070
I was wondering, "God, I wonder
how long it takes to die."
464
00:28:44,630 --> 00:28:48,670
NARRATOR: They walked for milesin search of help.
465
00:28:48,750 --> 00:28:50,510
SCYMANKY:
The landscape was gone.
466
00:28:50,590 --> 00:28:52,990
You had no bearing.
467
00:28:53,070 --> 00:28:55,750
NARRATOR: This is allthat remained of the forest
468
00:28:55,830 --> 00:29:00,230
where Jim had worked,just 90 minutes earlier.
469
00:29:00,310 --> 00:29:03,590
SCYMANKY: Everything was
just smoldering and down.
470
00:29:03,670 --> 00:29:07,830
Just us and the devastation.
471
00:29:10,150 --> 00:29:13,310
NARRATOR: A few miles away,the ash had cleared
472
00:29:13,390 --> 00:29:16,910
and David Crockettcould breathe once again.
473
00:29:16,990 --> 00:29:20,990
CROCKETT: I had my still camera,
and I just, click, I made it!
474
00:29:24,390 --> 00:29:28,790
I think you can see
a pretty big smile on my face.
475
00:29:28,870 --> 00:29:31,430
That's the first moment
I thought,
476
00:29:31,510 --> 00:29:33,670
"Hey, I might make it
out of here alive.
477
00:29:33,750 --> 00:29:36,470
This is amazing!"
478
00:29:36,550 --> 00:29:40,190
NARRATOR: But the eruption wasreaching a new violent phase,
479
00:29:40,270 --> 00:29:42,790
and the muddy laharswere wreaking havoc
480
00:29:42,870 --> 00:29:44,430
in the valleys below.
481
00:30:01,710 --> 00:30:04,230
NARRATOR: Nearly four hoursafter the blast,
482
00:30:04,310 --> 00:30:07,750
the eruption was in full flow.
483
00:30:07,830 --> 00:30:12,990
Lava blocks and pumicespewed out from the crater,
484
00:30:13,070 --> 00:30:14,990
heaping yet more devastation
485
00:30:15,070 --> 00:30:17,990
onto the north sideof the volcano.
486
00:30:20,710 --> 00:30:22,910
The laharsroared down the mountain,
487
00:30:22,990 --> 00:30:25,110
gathering pace and power.
488
00:30:25,190 --> 00:30:26,910
MAN ON RADIO:All units, Toutle area,
489
00:30:26,990 --> 00:30:29,990
have report of a mudflowthree-quarters of a mile
490
00:30:30,070 --> 00:30:34,670
to one mile widecoming down the Toutle.
491
00:30:34,750 --> 00:30:38,150
NARRATOR: A 20-foot-highwall of water
492
00:30:38,230 --> 00:30:42,750
carried a lethal loadof sediment and logs.
493
00:30:46,230 --> 00:30:49,590
Jim Scymanky witnessedthis rare force of nature
494
00:30:49,670 --> 00:30:53,430
in the valley below him.
495
00:30:53,510 --> 00:30:55,990
SCYMANKY: Just unbelievable!
496
00:30:56,070 --> 00:30:57,510
It had trailers in it.
497
00:30:57,590 --> 00:31:01,870
It had heavy equipment
like bulldozers.
498
00:31:01,950 --> 00:31:06,950
It had parts of houses,
trees, huge trees,
499
00:31:07,030 --> 00:31:09,830
and just rolling, slow roll.
500
00:31:09,910 --> 00:31:13,990
It was just engulfing
everything.
501
00:31:14,070 --> 00:31:15,550
NARRATOR: Downstream,
502
00:31:15,630 --> 00:31:18,510
it threatened bridgesand highways,
503
00:31:18,590 --> 00:31:23,270
vital escape routesaway from the volcano.
504
00:31:23,350 --> 00:31:25,350
(crash)
505
00:31:25,430 --> 00:31:27,950
MAN: Woo!
506
00:31:28,030 --> 00:31:30,510
SHERIFF: Get off the bridge!
(whistles)
507
00:31:30,590 --> 00:31:34,070
Come on! Get over here!
508
00:31:34,150 --> 00:31:37,070
NARRATOR: Deputy George Barkersaw the lahars
509
00:31:37,150 --> 00:31:41,270
approach the Toutle Bridge.
510
00:31:41,350 --> 00:31:44,590
BARKER: Bob is screaming
on the radio,
511
00:31:44,670 --> 00:31:46,510
"Clear the bridges!
512
00:31:46,590 --> 00:31:49,310
Clear the bridges!"
513
00:31:49,390 --> 00:31:52,670
I saw that bridge go out.
514
00:31:52,750 --> 00:31:58,430
It was a big span, and it went
down pretty relatively quick.
515
00:31:58,510 --> 00:32:02,310
Truthfully, I was very afraid
of what was happening,
516
00:32:02,390 --> 00:32:04,150
for my own sake.
517
00:32:06,710 --> 00:32:09,510
NARRATOR: For hours,the lahars funneled down
518
00:32:09,590 --> 00:32:12,350
both forks of the Toutle River,
519
00:32:12,430 --> 00:32:15,910
putting a dozen bridgesout of action.
520
00:32:16,747 --> 00:32:23,388
♪ ♪
521
00:32:24,310 --> 00:32:26,870
The scale of destructionwas beyond the scope
522
00:32:26,950 --> 00:32:29,310
of the local counties.
523
00:32:29,390 --> 00:32:30,990
MAN ON RADIO: We're gonnahave a real problem down below,
524
00:32:31,070 --> 00:32:33,030
that's all I can say right now.
525
00:32:35,870 --> 00:32:38,190
NARRATOR: The National Guardwas called up...
526
00:32:42,790 --> 00:32:45,910
including pilotJess Hagerman...
527
00:32:48,030 --> 00:32:51,830
and Darald Stebner,a Vietnam veteran.
528
00:32:55,030 --> 00:32:57,430
Stebner and Hagerman's task
529
00:32:57,510 --> 00:32:59,870
was to flyinto the blast zone...
530
00:32:59,950 --> 00:33:03,910
PILOT: Oh, that's some
hot ground, boy, and on. Gee!
531
00:33:03,990 --> 00:33:06,950
NARRATOR:...and search for survivors.
532
00:33:07,030 --> 00:33:08,430
JESS HAGERMAN:
We didn't know in those days
533
00:33:08,510 --> 00:33:10,430
what this thing was all about,
534
00:33:10,510 --> 00:33:13,670
and we didn't have a clue
of where we were going
535
00:33:13,750 --> 00:33:17,870
or what we were gonna find.
536
00:33:17,950 --> 00:33:22,270
NARRATOR: They had to flytoward the erupting volcano.
537
00:33:22,350 --> 00:33:25,030
DARALD STEBNER: "This is
scarier than Vietnam," I said,
538
00:33:25,110 --> 00:33:29,030
"because there's no place
we can go with this thing."
539
00:33:29,110 --> 00:33:33,230
You don't know if that thing's
gonna erupt again.
540
00:33:33,310 --> 00:33:36,830
And the eruption has
a much more severe consequence
541
00:33:36,910 --> 00:33:40,310
than an AK-47 round.
542
00:33:40,390 --> 00:33:45,270
HAGERMAN: It was unbelievable,
the power of this cloud.
543
00:33:45,350 --> 00:33:48,270
And you're flying around
in this little bitty helicopter,
544
00:33:48,350 --> 00:33:53,070
and you think, like, it's like
a gnat in the universe.
545
00:33:55,590 --> 00:33:56,950
NARRATOR: Beneath them,
546
00:33:57,030 --> 00:34:00,390
a colorless,lifeless landscape.
547
00:34:00,470 --> 00:34:04,750
HAGERMAN: The sky, the ground,
everything was the same color.
548
00:34:04,830 --> 00:34:07,030
It was all covered with ash.
549
00:34:09,590 --> 00:34:12,830
STEBNER: I'm stumbling
for words now. I was then, too.
550
00:34:12,910 --> 00:34:14,430
It was just that
it was so overwhelming,
551
00:34:14,510 --> 00:34:16,910
where does one start?
552
00:34:19,230 --> 00:34:24,710
NARRATOR:No trees were left standing.
553
00:34:24,790 --> 00:34:26,270
HAGERMAN: It just looked
like somebody had taken
554
00:34:26,350 --> 00:34:31,110
a great big giant comb
and just combed 'em down.
555
00:34:31,190 --> 00:34:33,910
All the trees were laying
in the same direction.
556
00:34:36,390 --> 00:34:38,750
STEBNER: You just can't believe
what you're looking at.
557
00:34:38,830 --> 00:34:41,030
PILOT: Nothing matches the map.
558
00:34:41,110 --> 00:34:43,830
NARRATOR: Landmarkshad been obliterated.
559
00:34:43,910 --> 00:34:47,230
PILOT: Where's Spirit Lake?Is that it over there?
560
00:34:47,310 --> 00:34:50,550
Doesn't look like any placeI've ever been before.
561
00:34:50,630 --> 00:34:52,950
NARRATOR:Lost within the devastation,
562
00:34:53,030 --> 00:34:55,350
the volcano's victims.
563
00:34:59,790 --> 00:35:03,110
STEBNER: How could anybody
survive the initial blast
564
00:35:03,190 --> 00:35:05,830
with what it did
to those trees?
565
00:35:13,070 --> 00:35:16,790
NARRATOR: About eight hours in,a lahar was reaching its peak
566
00:35:16,870 --> 00:35:20,630
20 milesdown the Toutle Valley,
567
00:35:20,710 --> 00:35:27,110
where photographers capturedan astonishing act of bravery.
568
00:35:27,190 --> 00:35:30,110
Two brothers,Robert and John Brown,
569
00:35:30,190 --> 00:35:33,310
attempted to free some horses.
570
00:35:33,390 --> 00:35:36,550
ROBERT BROWN: They had just as
much a right to live as we did.
571
00:35:36,630 --> 00:35:38,510
We gave it a shot.
572
00:35:38,590 --> 00:35:40,790
NARRATOR: For half an hour,they fought to drive them
573
00:35:40,870 --> 00:35:44,790
over a railroad trackto dry land,
574
00:35:44,870 --> 00:35:48,190
but nature proved too powerful.
575
00:35:48,270 --> 00:35:52,030
BROWN: I looked up, and I saw
a wave of mud coming at us.
576
00:35:52,110 --> 00:35:55,750
NARRATOR:Another surge approached.
577
00:35:55,830 --> 00:35:58,270
BROWN: We were between
a rock and a hard spot.
578
00:35:58,350 --> 00:36:01,470
John, he just passed out
right there on the spot,
579
00:36:01,550 --> 00:36:03,910
from just exhaustion.
580
00:36:03,990 --> 00:36:07,150
We had to give up on the horses.
581
00:36:07,230 --> 00:36:12,950
NARRATOR: On the mountain,a glimmer of hope--footprints.
582
00:36:13,030 --> 00:36:14,550
HAGERMAN:
Naturally, you're excited
583
00:36:14,630 --> 00:36:18,070
because somebody's alive
out here,
584
00:36:18,150 --> 00:36:20,390
and we're gonna find somebody.
585
00:36:24,390 --> 00:36:30,350
♪ ♪
586
00:36:30,430 --> 00:36:35,030
HAGERMAN: All of a sudden, we
see two guys laying on the road.
587
00:36:35,110 --> 00:36:37,630
SCYMANKY:
They came out of nowhere,
588
00:36:37,710 --> 00:36:41,470
and they were hovering
right above us.
589
00:36:41,550 --> 00:36:44,750
NARRATOR: Jim Scymankyand one other logger
590
00:36:44,830 --> 00:36:48,990
collapsedin the ashy wasteland.
591
00:36:49,070 --> 00:36:51,070
SCYMANKY: I think I waved my arm
up or something, you know,
592
00:36:51,150 --> 00:36:53,430
I had some strength left.
593
00:36:53,510 --> 00:36:58,790
NARRATOR: But landing a chopperin deep ash risked a collision.
594
00:36:58,870 --> 00:36:59,870
SCYMANKY: The ash was so deep,
595
00:36:59,950 --> 00:37:02,110
it would just
blow it everywhere,
596
00:37:02,190 --> 00:37:03,270
and you couldn't even see
the helicopter.
597
00:37:03,350 --> 00:37:05,950
You couldn't see anything.
598
00:37:06,030 --> 00:37:08,070
HAGERMAN: It just
completely engulfed you.
599
00:37:08,150 --> 00:37:09,630
Just before you land,
600
00:37:09,710 --> 00:37:11,670
three or four feet
before you hit the ground,
601
00:37:11,750 --> 00:37:14,430
you can see the ground.
602
00:37:14,510 --> 00:37:16,350
NARRATOR: At the fringeof the blast zone,
603
00:37:16,430 --> 00:37:21,710
logger Jim had barely survived.
604
00:37:21,790 --> 00:37:23,630
REPORTER: The men caught
on Mount St. Helens this morning
605
00:37:23,710 --> 00:37:24,910
are now at Emanuel Hospital,
606
00:37:24,990 --> 00:37:29,230
severely burned
by hot gases and ash.
607
00:37:29,310 --> 00:37:31,150
SCYMANKY: But we'd been
out there for seven hours.
608
00:37:31,230 --> 00:37:32,830
That's a long, long time.
609
00:37:32,910 --> 00:37:36,710
Oh, the doctor
said it was a miracle.
610
00:37:36,790 --> 00:37:38,790
NARRATOR:Inside the blast zone,
611
00:37:38,870 --> 00:37:42,230
Darald Stebnerwas still searching.
612
00:37:42,310 --> 00:37:45,390
STEBNER: We saw this large log
up ahead of us there,
613
00:37:45,470 --> 00:37:49,230
and there was somebody
moving on it.
614
00:37:49,310 --> 00:37:52,350
And my gosh,
we got a closer look,
615
00:37:52,430 --> 00:37:57,510
and there was a gentleman
sitting up on this felled tree.
616
00:37:57,590 --> 00:38:00,310
NARRATOR: Logger Jose Dias.
617
00:38:00,390 --> 00:38:05,710
STEBNER: He was hunched down.
He was hurting.
618
00:38:05,790 --> 00:38:08,670
I think he just felt
totally exhausted.
619
00:38:11,510 --> 00:38:15,310
NARRATOR: Another rescue teamnoticed a distress signal.
620
00:38:15,390 --> 00:38:21,030
Three small fires led themto cameraman David Crockett.
621
00:38:21,110 --> 00:38:23,110
CROCKETT: It is so arrogant,
but I felt like,
622
00:38:23,190 --> 00:38:26,670
oh, this is all
part of a day's work.
623
00:38:26,750 --> 00:38:28,630
That's what it felt like
at the time.
624
00:38:28,710 --> 00:38:30,470
Looking back now,
625
00:38:30,550 --> 00:38:36,870
at the people who risked
their lives to save me, um...
626
00:38:39,910 --> 00:38:41,990
I, of course, feel
a lot differently.
627
00:38:43,043 --> 00:38:49,870
♪ ♪
628
00:38:49,950 --> 00:38:54,190
NARRATOR: Mount St. Helenshad done its worst.
629
00:38:54,270 --> 00:38:59,390
The volcano had ejected540 million tons of ash.
630
00:39:01,310 --> 00:39:03,110
REPORTER: In partsof Washington and Montana,
631
00:39:03,190 --> 00:39:06,350
it lies on the groundseven inches deep.
632
00:39:06,430 --> 00:39:09,470
NARRATOR: The after-effectswould last for months.
633
00:39:12,270 --> 00:39:13,630
REPORTER:Law enforcement agencies
634
00:39:13,710 --> 00:39:15,590
have one word of advice--
635
00:39:15,670 --> 00:39:18,870
don't drive, don't leave home,don't leave animals outside,
636
00:39:18,950 --> 00:39:20,790
and above all, don't panic.
637
00:39:20,870 --> 00:39:21,790
(horn honks)
638
00:39:21,870 --> 00:39:22,990
(thud)
639
00:39:25,510 --> 00:39:30,470
NARRATOR: The ash spreadacross 12 states.
640
00:39:30,550 --> 00:39:32,790
REPORTER: The plume of volcanic
ash has now been reported
641
00:39:32,870 --> 00:39:34,870
as far east as North Dakota,
642
00:39:34,950 --> 00:39:36,590
and fallout
could reach New England
643
00:39:36,670 --> 00:39:39,790
in two or three days.
644
00:39:39,870 --> 00:39:44,550
NARRATOR: It circledthe globe numerous times.
645
00:39:44,630 --> 00:39:50,430
Closer to home, the volcano hadrearranged a whole landscape...
646
00:39:51,442 --> 00:39:57,192
♪ ♪
647
00:39:58,470 --> 00:40:03,230
...and transformed Spirit Lakeinto a steaming cauldron.
648
00:40:05,510 --> 00:40:08,630
SWANSON: Even a relatively small
volcano like Mount St. Helens,
649
00:40:08,710 --> 00:40:10,310
look what it did!
650
00:40:12,430 --> 00:40:16,070
NARRATOR: 200 homes gone,
651
00:40:16,150 --> 00:40:22,430
200 miles of highwayand rail destroyed,
652
00:40:22,510 --> 00:40:25,750
wildlife and livestockwiped out
653
00:40:25,830 --> 00:40:29,710
by the hundreds of thousands,
654
00:40:29,790 --> 00:40:34,430
and forestsin a 230-square-mile area
655
00:40:34,510 --> 00:40:37,110
snapped like twigs.
656
00:40:41,110 --> 00:40:46,750
The eruption killed 57 people,including logger Jose Dias,
657
00:40:46,830 --> 00:40:49,350
who later diedfrom his injuries.
658
00:40:53,390 --> 00:40:58,830
But out of this devastation,over 130 people were rescued.
659
00:40:59,910 --> 00:41:00,950
HAGERMAN: Hey!
660
00:41:01,030 --> 00:41:02,190
(laughs)
661
00:41:02,270 --> 00:41:04,430
Jim Scymanky!
662
00:41:04,510 --> 00:41:05,750
How you doing?
663
00:41:05,830 --> 00:41:07,310
SCYMANKY:
I'm doing fine, thank you.
664
00:41:07,390 --> 00:41:08,870
HAGERMAN: Hey, good to see ya.
SCYMANKY: It's good to see you.
665
00:41:08,950 --> 00:41:11,110
HAGERMAN: It's always
a wonderful feeling,
666
00:41:11,190 --> 00:41:13,190
probably the greatest
feeling you can have,
667
00:41:13,270 --> 00:41:17,430
to know that you probably
helped somebody live.
668
00:41:17,510 --> 00:41:18,430
You're looking good!
669
00:41:18,510 --> 00:41:19,430
SCYMANKY: Still here.
670
00:41:19,510 --> 00:41:20,510
HAGERMAN: Still upright.
671
00:41:20,590 --> 00:41:21,510
SCYMANKY:
I'm still upright, yeah.
672
00:41:21,590 --> 00:41:23,030
HAGERMAN: Me, too!
673
00:41:23,110 --> 00:41:24,870
SCYMANKY: I didn't know Jess,
but, you know,
674
00:41:24,950 --> 00:41:27,270
great human being,
I know that.
675
00:41:27,350 --> 00:41:30,550
Wasn't for him, I wouldn't
be here today talking, so.
676
00:41:33,550 --> 00:41:34,990
CROCKETT: If I had it to do
all over again,
677
00:41:35,070 --> 00:41:37,670
I would definitely go back.
678
00:41:39,870 --> 00:41:42,510
It was just
the most incredible experience
679
00:41:42,590 --> 00:41:44,230
I've ever lived through.
680
00:41:44,310 --> 00:41:45,790
STOFFEL: We weren't sure
that we were going to make it
681
00:41:45,870 --> 00:41:48,150
out of that situation at all.
682
00:41:48,230 --> 00:41:50,830
For months, I really
grappled with the issue
683
00:41:50,910 --> 00:41:52,790
that I was still alive,
684
00:41:52,870 --> 00:41:54,470
and I told myself
685
00:41:54,550 --> 00:41:58,830
that I wouldn't take life
for granted again.
686
00:41:58,910 --> 00:42:00,750
BROWN: You realize
how small you are,
687
00:42:00,830 --> 00:42:03,390
in the universe, in the planet.
688
00:42:03,470 --> 00:42:07,510
I do my best just to enjoy life.
689
00:42:07,590 --> 00:42:11,110
HICKSON: The effect
was life-changing.
690
00:42:11,190 --> 00:42:15,390
I've chosen volcanology
as a career path.
691
00:42:15,470 --> 00:42:19,430
Here was an event
that had almost killed me
692
00:42:19,510 --> 00:42:23,030
and really, it inspired me
to learn more
693
00:42:23,110 --> 00:42:27,830
about what had happened
at Mount St. Helens.
694
00:42:27,910 --> 00:42:30,310
I'm thankful to be alive.
695
00:42:30,390 --> 00:42:36,259
♪ ♪
696
00:42:37,510 --> 00:42:41,070
NARRATOR: The 1980 eruptionof Mount St. Helens
697
00:42:41,150 --> 00:42:44,310
ushered in a new eraof volcanology.
698
00:42:47,910 --> 00:42:51,030
For the first time,hundreds of images revealed
699
00:42:51,110 --> 00:42:53,710
the full forceof the cataclysms
700
00:42:53,790 --> 00:42:59,030
that snow-capped volcanoescan unleash.
701
00:42:59,110 --> 00:43:00,590
SWANSON: I don't think
in any other eruption
702
00:43:00,670 --> 00:43:03,950
has photography
been so important,
703
00:43:04,030 --> 00:43:06,190
because we didn't
have to imagine.
704
00:43:06,270 --> 00:43:08,630
You can look at the photographs
and see them.
705
00:43:12,190 --> 00:43:14,750
NARRATOR: Since 1980,Mount St. Helens
706
00:43:14,830 --> 00:43:17,430
has grown a new magma dome.
707
00:43:20,950 --> 00:43:25,110
And in the same mountain rangein the Pacific Northwest,
708
00:43:25,190 --> 00:43:29,790
there are about a dozen moreactive snow-capped giants.
709
00:43:29,870 --> 00:43:33,230
The tallest is Mount Rainier.
710
00:43:33,310 --> 00:43:34,990
HICKSON:
Because it is very high,
711
00:43:35,070 --> 00:43:37,750
has a lot of ice and snow on it,
712
00:43:37,830 --> 00:43:44,310
Mount Rainier will be incredibly
dangerous when it erupts.
713
00:43:44,390 --> 00:43:46,230
NARRATOR: There's no certainty
714
00:43:46,310 --> 00:43:51,030
about when any of thesevolcanoes will next stir.
715
00:43:51,110 --> 00:43:52,950
But for the tensof thousands of people
716
00:43:53,030 --> 00:43:55,190
living in the valleys below,
717
00:43:55,270 --> 00:43:59,430
the effectswill be catastrophic.
718
00:43:59,510 --> 00:44:02,790
SWANSON: We volcanologists need
to continually remind the public
719
00:44:02,870 --> 00:44:06,257
that these volcanoes will
erupt again in the future.
57556
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