Mount St Helens 30 Years On

It was 30 years ago today.....

The 30th anniversary of the 1980 eruption saw many events and commemorations by a number of local and national organizations. These events involved people who were affected at the time and those who have come to know the mountain since. The Mount St. Helens institute gave daily updates via twitter of the month leading up to the eruption and news crews once again filled the parking lots at the visitor centers.

Johnston Ridge Observatory had worked through the winter months producing new interactive displays and videos, these were officially unveiled during the commemoration. The center has planned an amphitheater and the ground-breaking for this took place at the same time. Mount St. Helens Institute took over the center for "It's a Blast" which saw demonstrations and displays inside and outside, it was great to see the center full of so many people young and old reconnecting with the area. In addition The Forest Learning Center extended it's opening hours for the weekend to cater for the renewed interest the anniversary created.

The Tourism Bureau organized a 'Tell your Story' event at Hoffstadt Bluffs at which survivors and heroes of the eruption recounted their own experiences and brought along photographs they had taken. These conversations were often charged with emotion, with frequent somber moments as people told how they had escaped, only to discover their friend hadn't made it. Helicopter pilots who flew into the blast zone to rescue people and later recover victims also told their story, the respect and admiration in the room for these heroes was almost touchable. This event was filmed by a local TV station, we will have highlights on this page soon so please come back.

National Geographic Magazine published a special issue looking at how the mountain and surrounding area has been evolving since the eruption. Photographers Diane Cook and Len Jenshal were commissioned to take fresh images for the article and they gave a slide show presentation and talk at Johnston Ridge Observatory. The photographs from the article are here. The photograph to the right shows Roger Werth (whose famous image of the 1980 eruption featured on the cover of the magazine) chatting to Diane and Len at Hoffstadt Bluffs after giving their presentation.

Resources

Download the Mount st. Helens at 30 large logo here. (zipped)
Download the Mount st. Helens at 30 small logo here.