PHOTOS: Remembering Mount St. Helens 44 years later
Mount St. Helens roared awake 44 years ago on May 18, 1980 with a deadly eruption.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- Mount St. Helens roared awake 44 years ago on May 18, 1980 with a deadly eruption.
The northern facing explosion sent ash and debris across the Pacific Northwest after scientists kept a watchful eye on the Cascade peak for months. The eruption killed 57 people as ash blanketed nearly 11 states.
Saturday, May 18, 2024 marks 44 years since the southern Washington peak came to life in its biggest eruption to date.
Three vehicles are covered with ash and debris near the Mount St. Helens volcano in Wash., May 23, 1980. Rescue efforts are underway for between 70 and 90 persons still missing in the area. (AP Photo/Gary Stewart) 
A huge collection of rocks, mud and logs has formed a natural dam where the Toutle River once flowed, as seen at Mount St. Helens, Wash., May 21, 1980. Officials are concerned that a sudden release of the water held behind the dam would bring major flooding throughout the Toutle River Valley and as far away as Kelso and Longview, Wash. (AP Photo/Gary Stewart) 
Dennis Mack of he Portland water department hoses off a downtown street in an effort to remove ash particles from Mount St. Helens volcano, May 26, 1980. Ash is continuing to fall on the city - but not like it did Sunday when the mountain went off with its most violent eruption in a week. (AP Photo/Jack Smith) 
The body of Reid Blackburn, 27, was found in his car buried under ash from the eruption of Mount St. Helens, May 22, 1980. Blackburn was a photographer for The Columbian of Vancouver, Wash. (AP Photo) 
In this photo provided by the U.S. Geological Survey, is an aerial view of he erupting Mount St. Helens volcano, made from the northwest side, May 18, 1980. In the background is Mount Hood. (AP Photo/U.S. Geological Survey) 
These trucks and earth-moving equipment were covered with mud when the volcano erupted and triggered a break in an earthen retaining dam the contractor was corking on at Mount St. Helens, March 20, 1982. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg) 
Meta Lake, Washington, pictured Oct. 13, 1981, is a land where rocks float and scientists make gentlemen bets on whether there is a phantom trout in a creek. The lake sits in the blast area of Mount St. Helens. A one-time favorite spot for picnickers is surrounded by fallen timber and volcanic ash. (AP Photo/Barry Sweet) 
Members of the Washington National Guard from Tacoma, Wash., clean the roof of a senior citizen center in Moses Lake, Wash., May 27, 1980, as the town continued to dig out after a heavy blanket of ash from Mount St. Helens settled on the area last week. The guard was called to help after more than five inches of ash collected on the buildings. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski) 
Weyerhaeuser Co. forester Byron Rickert looks over some of the 150,000 acres of land near Mount St. Helens, Wash., Oct. 29, 1981, from which his company is saving trees damaged by the eruption of the volcano. Rickert is standing in an area about nine miles from the the crater of the volcano where the salvage logging operation has not yet begun. The twisted and splintered stumps around Rickert are the result of the volcano blast. (AP Photo/Gary Stewart) 
A construction dump truck sits in the ground covered with mud that came from a broken dam after the eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington, March 20, 1982. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg) 
A helicopter crewman ducks under the rotor as he prepares to board after checking out a campsite near the Mount St. Helens volcano, March 23, 1980. Two bodies were found in the area. (AP Photo/Gary Stewart) 
Water truck rolls down a Portland, Ore., street early on June 13, 1980, as ash clean-up operations got underway in the wake of a major eruption of Mount St. Helens - the volcano located 45 miles northeast. This is the third major eruption in a month. This one came late Thursday night. (AP Photo/Jack Smith) 
In this photo provided by the U.S. Geological Survey, is an aerial view of the eruption of Mount St. Helens volcano, Wash., May 18, 1980. White linear features are logging roads; dark patches are trees. (AP Photo/U.S. Geological Survey) 
Life is re-establishing itself in the 150-mile blast zone around Mount St. Helens in Washington, Oct. 13, 1981. It's been two growing seasons since the mountain, background, erupted May 18, 1980. Hillsides of fireweed are inter-spaced with ridges of grim destruction. (AP Photo/Barry Sweet) 
Theresa Temple, a student at Portland State University in Portland, Ore., walks to her morning classes with a mask on to protect her from breathing ash from Mount St. Helens, 45 miles away from Portland, Oct. 17, 1980. The volcano is sending ash in a southwesterly direction. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg) 
Mount St. Helens erupts with steam and ash to about 17,000 feet after being quiet for several months, Feb. 5, 1981. The volcano, located 45 miles northeast of Portland, Wash., has been active since March 27. Behind the plume is Mount Rainier, a dormant volcano. (AP Photo/Jack Smith) 
A small steam cloud lifts from behind the front lip of Mount St. Helens in Washington, Sept. 4, 1981, in this view from north of the mountain. In the foreground is a peak showing some of the blast area a short distance from the mountain. (AP Photo) 
In this photo provided by the Department of Defense, the U.S. Army from Fort Lewis, Wash., and civilian rescue units are assisted by trained search dogs as they comb an area near a buried logging truck for victims of last week's Mount St. Helens volcano eruption, June 10, 1980. (AP Photo/DOD) 
FILE - In this 1980 file photo, a worker at an auto dealership in Moscow, Idaho uses a blower to remove ash from a car from the eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington state, more than 350 miles away. May 18, 2015 will mark the 35th anniversary of the eruption of the volcano. (Moscow-Pullman Daily News, file/Via AP) 
A huge collection of rocks, mud and logs has formed a natural dam where the Toutle River once flowed, as seen at Mount St. Helens, Wash., May 21, 1980. Officials are concerned that a sudden release of the water held behind the dam would bring major flooding throughout the Toutle River Valley and as far away as Kelso and Longview, Wash. (AP Photo/Gary Stewart) 
Smoke and ash pour from a large crater atop Mount St. Helens, April 10, 1980, as the volcano erupted sending the plume skyward, The volcano, active for two weeks, is located 45 miles northeast of Portland, Wash. (AP Photo/Jack Smith) 
Harbingers of Mount St. Helens' spring - wildflowers are blooming again, March 23, 1982, in Washington state. (AP Photo/Katsumi Kasahara) 
This view looks toward Spirit Lake near the base of Mount St. Helens in Washington, May 24, 1980. A natural dam is separating Spirit Lake from the Toutle River and it is now stable but authorities warned that the danger is not over. (AP Photo/Lennox McLendon) 
Tom Johnston of Chicago examines a bronze plaque unveiled a the dedication of the Mount St. Helens Volcanic Monument in Toledo, Wash., May 18, 1983. The father of David Johnston, a U.S. Geological Survey scientist killed after alerting the world to the eruption of Mount St. Helens in May of 1980, said his son would have been proud of the monument. (AP Photo/Gary Stewart) 
Steam rises from the dome inside the crater of Mount St. Helens in Washington state, March 21, 1982, with the remains of mud flows and pyroclastic material running out of the mouth of the crater. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg) 
Jan Smith of Castle Rock, Wash., wears a gas mask after Mount St. Helens erupted filling the air with ash and smoke, May 29, 1980. Many areas of the northwest received varying amounts of ash after the May 18 eruption. (AP Photo) 
Logs are jammed up in the Toutle River about 25 miles from Mount St. Helens, May 20, 1980. Flash floods and mudslides have caused flooding and debris to back up in the river after violent eruptions from the volcano. (AP Photo/Jack Smith) 
High water and mudslides caused heavy damage to this house located along the Toutle River in Washington, May 19, 1980. Eruptions from Mount St. Helens have triggered flash floods and mudslides. (AP Photo/Jack Smith) 
Clean-up crews begin a big job in the town of Toutle, Wash., about 20 miles from the base of Mount St. Helens, May 28, 1980. Homes and businesses in that area sustained heavy damage when the Toutle River over flowed its banks May 18 after violent eruptions on Mount St. Helens. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski) 
Residents of Longview, Wash., continue clean-up operations as the city tried to get back to normal despite deposits of ash from Mount St. Helens, June 2, 1980. The volcano continues to spew small amounts of ash and steam. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski) 
Washington State Highway Patrol officer wearing a mask leaves his cruiser which is equipped with a truck air filter that says "water", in Ritzville, Wash., May 22, 1980. So much ash from erupting Mount St. Helens has made travel in the area difficult. The highway patrol has already lost several vehicles because of ash from the volcano which is about 200 miles west of Ritzville. (AP Photo/Sue Ford) 
FILE - In this May 18, 2010 file photo, a memorial to those who lost their lives in the May 18, 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens is shown near the Johnson Ridge Observatory at the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument in Washington state. May 18, 2015 is the 35th anniversary of the eruption. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, file) 
FILE - In this 1980 file photo, Andy Setlow goes for a run near Moscow, Idaho, while wearing a mask to avoid breathing ash from the eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington state more than 350 miles away. May 18, 2015 will mark the 35th anniversary of the eruption of the volcano. (Moscow-Pullman Daily News, Bob Bain, file/Via AP) 
Just as 100 foot snags left standing in the Green River Valley after the eruption of Mount St. Helens have their nickname, Standing Dead, so does the timber that was blown down by the eruption in Washington, Nov. 1981. It is called Dead and Down. (AP Photo/Gary Stewart) 
Mount St. Helens roars to life, sending a plume of smoke and ash skyward, Oct. 17, 1980. The volcano is located 45 miles northeast of Portland, Washington. Next to Mount St. Helens is Mount Rainier, a dormant volcano. The plume was estimated to be 50,000 feet. (AP Photo/Jack Smith) 
Washington National Guardsmen Spec. 4 Ed Shamp stands watch on the road near Cougar, Wash., where persons entering the restricted area are required to sign in and out, May 28, 1980. Cougar is about eight miles from Mount St. Helens. (AP Photo/Bill Haber) 
Don Peterson, head of the U.S. Geological Survey's Mount St. Helens project, collects a sample of pumice from a huge mound of the volcanic rock as steam rises from the crater of the volcano is the background near Mount St. Helens, Oct. 2, 1980. (AP Photo/Gary Stewart) 
Army Warrant Officer Charlie Wesler looks over the remains of a tent at a campsite near the Mount St. Helens volcano, May 23, 1980. The Army is assisting in the search for survivors. (AP Photo/Gary Stewart) 
Paul Faultner walks away from the Washington National Guard helicopter that ferried him to safety from his home in the Mount St. Helens eruption area in Toutle, Wash., May 20, 1980. The 60-year-old Faultner says he will return to his farm as soon as roads are opened. (AP Photo) 
Reid Blackburn, a photographer for the Vancouver, Wash., Columbian adjusts some equipment near Mount St. Helens, May 18, 1980. Blackburn, who was camped near the volcano, is reported missing. (AP Photo/Vancouver Columbian) No Sales 
John Brown is covered with mud and exhausted following his unsuccessful rescue attempt of three horses in a log yard flooded by the Toutle River after the eruption of Mount St. Helens, Washington state, on May 19, 1980. Although Brown was helped by at least three other individuals all efforts to save the horses failed. (AP Photo/Gary Stewart) 
FILE - In this May 18, 1980 file photo, Mount St. Helens sends a plume of ash, smoke and debris skyward as it erupts. May 18, 2015 is the 35th anniversary of the eruption that killed more than 50 people and blasted more than 1,300 feet off the mountain's peak. (AP Photo/Jack Smith, File) 
Mike Korosec, a geologist with the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, prepares to photograph the giant lava dome in the Mount St. Helens crater, Wash., Feb. 15, 1981. The dome, surrounded by hissing steam from the crater floor, is about 400 feet high and over 1,000 feet in diameter. It was formed recently by molten rock oozing up into the crater and hardening. (AP Photo/Seattle Times/Johns) 
A spectator scans the northern slope of Mount St. Helens, March 26, 1980. The southwest Washington mountain has been the site of numerous earthquakes the last six days that could signal an eruption, according to a federal volcano expert. The mountain is about 45 miles north of Vancouver, Washington (AP Photo) 
Portland State University geologist Leonard Palmer climbs out of the crater atop Mount St. Helens after collecting ash samples - bag in foreground - May 1, 1980. The active volcano is located 45 miles northeast of Portland in Washington. (AP Photo/Tim Jewett)