Mount St. Helens: Spared by minutes

Every weekend from late March until the eruption of Mount St. Helens on May 18, 1980, Pullman resident Barry Johnston watched the volcano with his then-wife, Trixie Anders, a Washington State University doctoral student in geology.

On May 16, 1980, Johnston and Anders camped out on Spud Mountain with their friend Jim Fitzgerald, another geology student. The couple opted to stay at a motel in Toutle, Wash., the next night, while Fitzgerald again camped on the mountain. The next morning, after stopping for breakfast, the pair arrived at the Spud Mountain turnoff to see Mount St. Helens erupting. After taking a couple photos, they hightailed it down mountain roads, chased by a cloud of volcanic debris and escaping with their lives. Fitzgerald's body was later recovered from his blue Datsun.

The photos in this set were shared by Johnston, but they include images by other photographers he traded with after the eruption. These images have been noted as "photographer unknown."

Section:Gallery

Mon., May 17, 2010

Mount St. Helens as it appeared before erupting in 1980.
The first phreatic eruption at Mount St. Helens viewed by Barry Johnston, Trixie Anders and Jim Fitzgerald, approximately March 28, 1980. Many such steam explosions occurred leading up to Mount St. Helens' major May 18 eruption.
Another phreatic eruption of Mount St. Helens witnessed by Barry Johnston, Trixie Anders and Jim Fitzgerald about March 30, 1980.
Aerial photo of a phreatic eruption of Mount St. Helens in April 1980. Photographer unknown.
This April 1980 aerial photo shows the east-west fracture zone on Mount St. Helens. Photographer unknown.
The bulge on Mount St. Helens in April 1980, looking west at the east-west fracture zone on the mountain's north face. The bulge was growing by more than five feet per day in April, as recalled by Barry Johnston. Photographer unknown.
A phreatic explosion of Mount St. Helens in April 1980.
Mount St. Helens as seen by Barry Johnston, Trixie Anders and Jim Fitzgerald from Spud Mountain, six miles to the west May 17, 1980, the day before the eruption.
Mount St. Helens as seen by Barry Johnston, Trixie Anders and Jim Fitzgerald from Spud Mountain, six miles to the west May 17, 1980, the day before Mount St. Helens erupted.
Barry Johnston and Trixie Anders' first glimpse of the eruption of Mount St. Helens at 8:33 a.m. on May 18, 1980. The two had stopped for breakfast in Toutle before driving up to their usual vantage point at Spud Mountain, a decision that saved their lives. Their friend Jim Fitzgerald, who had camped on the mountain, died in the blast.
The eruption of Mount St. Helens as seen by Barry Johnston and Trixie Anders at 8:33 a.m. on May 18, 1980.
The eruption of Mount St. Helens as seen by Barry Johnston and Trixie Anders from the west at 8:33 a.m. May 18, 1980.
The eruption of Mount St. Helens as seen by Barry Johnston and Trixie Anders from the west at 8:33 a.m. May 18, 1980.
After seeing a cloud of ash and debris heading their way at the Spud Mountain turnoff, Barry Johnston and Trixie Anders hurtled away from the blast in Johnston's Jeep. This photo was taken from where they stopped, about 15 to 20 miles away from Mount St. Helens.
The eruption as seen by Barry Johnston and Trixie Anders about 15 to 20 miles away from Mount St. Helens.
Looking back at the Mount St. Helens eruption from Toutle, Wash. It was like "an atomic bomb had detonated," Barry Johnston recalls.
Looking back at the Mount St. Helens eruption from Toutle, Wash. It was like "an atomic bomb had detonated," Barry Johnston recalls.
Barry Johnston and Trixie Anders escaped with their lives when Mount St. Helens erupted. But their friend Jim Fitzgerald, with whom they'd been camping that weekend,, did not. This is Fitzgerald's Datsun, months after his body was recovered.