Mt. St. Helens Awakes, Spews Steam and Ash

VANCOUVER, Wash. — Mt. St. Helens blew off some steam and ash early Saturday, with the falling ash reported as far as 70 miles away, but officials reported no serious problems from the volcanic eruption.

Seismographic readings indicated minor explosive activity during the two-minute eruption at the 8,365-foot volcanic mountain, Steve Malone of the University of Washington geophysics lab in Seattle said.

He said activity after the eruption continued at decreased levels for the next few hours before returning to normal.

He also said the U.S. Geological Survey reported instruments in the volcano crater were “either damaged or knocked down.”

A dispatcher at the Sheriff’s Department in Yakima, about 70 miles northeast of the volcano in southwest Washington, confirmed reports of falling ash.

“We had a few people call in to report a light dusting and asking what it was,” the dispatcher said. “They said it looked like what happened a few years ago, but much lighter and powdery fine.”

A spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration in Seattle said no pilots reported the latest activity at Mt. St. Helens, and a spokesman for the state Department of Emergency Management said no problems associated with the event were reported.

Mt. St. Helens, in Skamania County about 30 miles north of Portland, Ore., violently exploded to life on May 18, 1980, blowing off the top 1,300 feet of the mountain and causing the deaths of 57 people.

The eruption leveled 200 square miles of surrounding timberland and spewed tons of ash.

For the next few years, the volcano emitted a fairly steady plume of steam and at times ash, but over the last few years it has been fairly dormant.

Malone said there was a minor “explosive activity” in early December, but ash from that event remained in the crater.

The last major event at Mt. St. Helens occurred in 1986 when lava flow stayed inside the crater.

Malone also said there is no connection between the renewed activity at Mt. St. Helens and Redoubt Volcano in Alaska, which has been spewing ash and steam since erupting to life in December.