Title taken from the last transmission by USGS vocanologist David Johnston, prior to getting buried under a pyroclastic flow. Last Sunday was the 45th anniversary of the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington State, when the volcano that had been laying dormant since 1831 erupted. The mountain had been closely monitored for over a month due to increased activity, such as the building of a lava dome when in the morning of May 18, an earthquake preceded massive landslide that took over half the mountain summit off. The mountain spewed ash tens of thousands of feet into the air, spreading as far as Yakima and Montana, the eruption being heard as far afield as Eugene, Oregon and was recorded in Newport. In the pyroclastic flows and mudslides that buried lakes and rivers, fifty-seven people died, the most notable of whom being Johnston, photographer Robert Landsburg, and Harry R. Truman, WWI veteran and owner of a lodge near Spirit Lake who refused to be evacuated. It still remains the worst volcanic eruption in the United States, at least so far; the eruption in a developed area allowed scientists an opportunity for in-depth research on volcanoes and volcanic activity.

My mom was five at the time of the eruption and her family lived well north of Mt. St Helens, under the shadow of another volcano. Her only memory was being outside of the house, seeing the sky turning dark, and her mother telling her to come inside; she must have thought it was a bad storm at the time.