Eruption of St. Helens in 1980

Mount St. Helens before and after the eruption

Mount St. Helens erupts in 1980. Steve Firth, a friend of the man who took this photo had the following to say: “...That Pinto and dirt bike belonged to a good friend of mine and when he stopped to turn around, he took this picture. He told me that there was lightning bolts shooting out of the smoke but he didn’t have the right filter on his camera to capture them at that moment. The picture could have been even more amazing. It was used on the TV news and used to be on the cover of Mt. St. Helens brochure at the Johnston Observatory / visitor center. He gave me an original 8×10 copy of it although it looked like he was a good distance away from the blast, he barely made it out of there alive. Had the blast came more in his direction he would have died in seconds. Sometime later he returned and photographed a burned-out pickup with a horse trailer attached to it. He told me he had talked to them that day and said they never made it out. He is a freelance photographer so he took some amazing pictures of the aftermath as well. Anyhow, I thought I’d let you know a bit more about that fabulous picture."

Rendering of the eruption of Mt Vesuvius in 79 AD that buried the ancient Roman cities of Pompeii & Herculaneum

I remember hearing a clip from a Washington state radio station... "If you were thinking about coming to visit Mount St. Helens, don't bother. Mount St Helens is coming to visit YOU."

Mount St. Helens erupts in 1980. Steve Firth, a friend of the man who took this photo had the following to say: “...That Pinto and dirt bike belonged to a good friend of mine and when he stopped to turn around, he took this picture. He told me that there was lightning bolts shooting out of the smoke but he didn’t have the right filter on his camera to capture them at that moment. The picture could have been even more amazing. It was used on the TV news and used to be on the cover of Mt. St. Helens brochure at the Johnston Observatory / visitor center. He gave me an original 8×10 copy of it although it looked like he was a good distance away from the blast, he barely made it out of there alive. Had the blast came more in his direction he would have died in seconds. Sometime later he returned and photographed a burned-out pickup with a horse trailer attached to it. He told me he had talked to them that day and said they never made it out. He is a freelance photographer so he took some amazing pictures of the aftermath as well. Anyhow, I thought I’d let you know a bit more about that fabulous picture."

This man captured his morning drive to work during the California Wildfires in 2018

The Kavachi undersea volcano as it erupts underwater in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, in the Solomon Islands.

Volcanic lightning caused by volcano eruption & not by thunderstorm.

In 1980, Mount St. Helens erupted and became the deadliest and most destructive volcanic eruption in U.S. history. This hiker witnessed the eruption from neighboring Mount Adams.

On May 18, 1980, the Mount St. Helens became the largest and most destructive volcanic eruption in U.S. history. By the end of its cycle of fire and fury, 57 people had died.