In the memories of all who were living in the Pacific Northwest at the time, the eruption of Mt. St. Helens in May of 1980 will always loom large.
I remember mid-afternoon, Dad and I were out by the corral, doing something with the horses, looking west across the valley, and seeing the cloud approaching. Dad said that there must be a bad thunderstorm coming, while I said that it must be the ash from the volcano. Dad thought I was nuts, as Mt. St. Helens was hundreds of miles away.
I was right, and the air turned a weird green color, and it started getting really, really dark. It got so dark that the street lights came on in town. It was one of the eeriest things I've ever witnessed.
All together, I guess we got about a half inch of ash here. Everyone was warned to stay inside, and not to breath the ash. Do not drive, we were told, as the ash would get sucked into your car's engine and damage it. They closed schools for a week, until the ash had settled. (I remember well, because we had to make that week of school up before we could start our summer vacation!)
Since 1980, the scientific study of volcanism has vastly increased our understanding of what happened that day. Studies of Mt. St. Helens have also yielded vast evidence that supports Young Earth Creation.
But, for those of us who lived through it, it is a memory that will never fade.
