Mount St. Helens erupted 46 years ago this weekend, and the mountain did not blow its top. It blew its side, and people as far away as Lethbridge, Alberta felt what that meant.

Harry R. Truman was 83 years old and refused to leave Spirit Lake Lodge. He believed the volcano would blow straight up, not sideways. He had said they couldn't pull him out with a mule team. He and his 16 cats were buried under 150 feet of volcanic debris. His body is believed to still be on the ridge that now bears his name.

USGS scientist David Johnston was observing from the mountain when it went. His last four words, broadcast on ham radios around the world: Vancouver, Vancouver, this is it. A pyroclastic flow swept him away. His body was never found. His trailer turned up among highway wreckage in 1993. Researchers believe the volcano is already inside the 30 to 100 year window for another eruption.

Topics: Mount St. Helens 1980, Harry Truman Spirit Lake, David Johnston, pyroclastic flow, Canada volcano impact

Originally aired on 2026-05-14