The Evergreen

Remembering the Mount St. Helens eruption and people who died on the mountain

By Julie Sabatier (OPB) and Ian McCluskey (OPB)
May 18, 2026 1 p.m.
a giant plume of ash blasted out of the top of an erupting Mount St. Helens volcano.

Aerial view of the May 18, 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens as seen from the southwest. Columns of ash and volcanic gas reached heights of more than 80,000 feet.

Courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey

Listen to audio from OPB journalists
00:00
 / 
27:19
THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR:

Everyone who was in the Pacific Northwest on May 18, 1980 has some kind of story about the Mount St. Helens eruption. OPB producer Ian McCluskey revisited that fateful day with some people who remember it very well for both personal and professional reasons. For this week’s episode, we’re revisiting a conversation with Ian about unearthing lost stories from Mount St. Helens.

Listen to all episodes of The Evergreen podcast here.

THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR:
THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR:

THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR: