1 00:00:00,389 --> 00:00:30,359 This series presents information based in part 2 00:00:30,359 --> 00:00:34,960 theory and conjecture. The producer's purpose is to suggest some possible 3 00:00:34,960 --> 00:00:41,562 explanation but not necessarily the only one to the mysteries we will examine. 4 00:00:41,562 --> 00:01:06,571 People have always been in awe of Mother Earth's most fearsome phenomenon, the volcano. 5 00:01:07,571 --> 00:01:13,573 Some of the most majestic peaks of western America rise along the cascade range. 6 00:01:13,573 --> 00:01:19,575 Deep within these peaceful looking mountains rumbles a power capable of devastating cities, 7 00:01:19,575 --> 00:01:26,577 of destroying cultivated lands, of causing horrible deaths. 8 00:01:26,577 --> 00:01:35,580 This unrecognizable landscape of devastation used to be Mount St. Helens. 9 00:01:35,580 --> 00:01:39,581 Mount St. Helens is just one of many cascade volcanoes. 10 00:01:39,581 --> 00:01:44,583 Which of these slumbering giants might awaken next? 11 00:01:48,584 --> 00:01:53,586 The towering splendor that was Mount St. Helens. 12 00:01:53,586 --> 00:02:01,589 For green slopes with a home for thousands of forest creatures, the refuge of nature lovers, 13 00:02:01,589 --> 00:02:07,591 thousands hiked her trails, families camped beneath her trees, 14 00:02:07,591 --> 00:02:13,593 lauders harvested her vast forests. 15 00:02:13,593 --> 00:02:20,595 Vacationers came to fish along the banks of Spirit Lake, nestled high on the slope of the mountain. 16 00:02:20,595 --> 00:02:27,597 The waters of Spirit Lake feed the Toodle River which winds down the mountain and through the valley towns below. 17 00:02:27,597 --> 00:02:32,599 Towns which had never thought of danger from the volcano that loomed above, 18 00:02:32,599 --> 00:02:40,601 until the spring of 1980 when the mountain began to heat from within. 19 00:02:40,601 --> 00:02:44,603 Her shroud of ice and snow began to melt. 20 00:02:44,603 --> 00:02:50,605 She began to shudder and swell, angrily belching forth steam and rock. 21 00:02:50,605 --> 00:02:55,606 Then on May 18th, 22 00:03:07,610 --> 00:03:13,612 it was one of the most powerful volcanic blasts ever recorded. 23 00:03:13,612 --> 00:03:19,614 Over 200 square miles were destroyed. 24 00:03:20,614 --> 00:03:27,617 The entire wildlife population was buried beneath billions of tons of ash and rock, 25 00:03:27,617 --> 00:03:34,619 or burned to death by the incredible heat of the explosion. 26 00:03:34,619 --> 00:03:40,621 Acidic ash rained from the sky, smothering the few trees left standing. 27 00:03:41,621 --> 00:03:46,623 The icy blue water of Spirit Lake turned to boiling gray mud. 28 00:03:46,623 --> 00:03:52,625 It surged over its banks, combining with the enormous volume of glacial melt. 29 00:03:52,625 --> 00:03:59,627 This wall of water and mud raced through the bed of the Toodle River inundating the countryside below. 30 00:03:59,627 --> 00:04:05,629 Devastating the water, the water was flowing through the river. 31 00:04:05,629 --> 00:04:09,631 The Toodle River inundating the countryside below. 32 00:04:09,631 --> 00:04:15,632 Devastating farms, homes, and lifestyles. 33 00:04:15,632 --> 00:04:21,634 Mrs. Adrienne Johnson was with her family on the Toodle River the night the muds came. 34 00:04:21,634 --> 00:04:25,636 When the mud started to come, which was in the evening around 7.00, 7.30, 35 00:04:25,636 --> 00:04:30,637 it was incredible. You just couldn't believe that it would take everything. 36 00:04:30,637 --> 00:04:34,639 It was like my husband said, you know, it will never get that high. 37 00:04:34,639 --> 00:04:37,640 We stood on my girlfriend's deck and we watched. 38 00:04:37,640 --> 00:04:42,641 And it was like Tassie. It would just come like waves. 39 00:04:45,642 --> 00:04:48,643 It was terrible. You could hear these hooded sounds. 40 00:04:48,643 --> 00:04:51,644 You could say, there goes the neighbor's house. 41 00:04:52,645 --> 00:04:55,646 These two have neighbors here. 42 00:04:55,646 --> 00:05:00,647 Now the only time that they come by is to see if they can salvage something. 43 00:05:03,648 --> 00:05:06,649 There's solitude now. It is just devastation. 44 00:05:06,649 --> 00:05:10,650 You get up in the morning and all you see is destruction. 45 00:05:14,652 --> 00:05:20,654 The shipping channel of the Carlitz River now runs just 6 inches down the river. 46 00:05:20,654 --> 00:05:27,656 It's just 6 inches deep in places, clawed with 1.5 million acre feet of mud and debris. 47 00:05:29,657 --> 00:05:34,658 Nearly 500,000 fish died from suffocation and heat. 48 00:05:38,660 --> 00:05:41,661 Hundreds of human lives might also have been lost, 49 00:05:41,661 --> 00:05:45,662 were it not for the planning of people like Carlitz County Sheriff Les Nelson. 50 00:05:45,662 --> 00:05:49,663 We started our action, of course, with this volcano. 51 00:05:49,663 --> 00:05:54,665 Most people relate to it as being of May the 18th of marches 52 00:05:54,665 --> 00:05:58,666 when this department had to start thinking about getting into action. 53 00:05:58,666 --> 00:06:04,668 And because of the threat and the information that we received, of course, we were concerned about our people. 54 00:06:05,668 --> 00:06:07,669 An evacuation plan was developed. 55 00:06:07,669 --> 00:06:12,671 Warning brochures were distributed. The county went into action. 56 00:06:13,671 --> 00:06:17,672 Inboulding these activities was under Sheriff William Stewart. 57 00:06:17,672 --> 00:06:25,675 Prior to the eruption on May the 18th, we had set up several roadblocks into the dangerous areas around the mountain. 58 00:06:26,675 --> 00:06:31,677 Warning people who came to those roadblocks that it was dangerous, yet they still went in 59 00:06:31,677 --> 00:06:37,679 and we feel that a lot of the ones that are still missing are there because of ignoring our warnings. 60 00:06:38,679 --> 00:06:43,681 Yes, people did die at Mount St. Helens. Many are still missing. 61 00:06:44,681 --> 00:06:49,683 Luckily, though, there are no towns dotting her hillside or lying at her base, 62 00:06:49,683 --> 00:06:53,684 like those at Mount Rainier, Mount Hood, or Mount Shasta. 63 00:06:54,684 --> 00:06:58,686 How many lives might be lost when those mountains erupt? 64 00:06:59,686 --> 00:07:06,688 When Mount St. Helens last erupted in 1857, her activity continued for 25 years. 65 00:07:06,688 --> 00:07:10,690 This time, how long will her rumbling go on? 66 00:07:11,690 --> 00:07:15,691 We're still on an alert where we're not comfortable. 67 00:07:15,691 --> 00:07:22,694 My personal feeling, and that's all that I'm expressing here, however, based on some conversations with the geologists, 68 00:07:22,694 --> 00:07:25,695 is that I think the mountain's going to blow again. 69 00:07:25,695 --> 00:07:30,696 Maybe not in the magnitude, but I don't think that thing's ready to go back to sleep. 70 00:07:31,697 --> 00:07:39,699 At centers for volcanic study like the University of Oregon, much knowledge has been gained. 71 00:07:40,700 --> 00:07:47,702 Molden material is tested. Rocks are analyzed. Temperatures and measurements are taken. 72 00:07:48,702 --> 00:07:52,703 But a real understanding of the volcano still eludes the scientists. 73 00:07:53,704 --> 00:07:57,705 Noted volcanologist Dr. Alex McBernie of the University of Oregon. 74 00:07:57,705 --> 00:08:08,709 Basically, a volcano is any vent to the Earth's crust by which molten material is able to rise to the surface and flow out. 75 00:08:10,709 --> 00:08:17,712 There are many different types of volcanic activity, all closely linked, which correspond to distinct types of volcanoes. 76 00:08:18,712 --> 00:08:25,714 Shield volcanoes are built up from very fluid magma, which escapes from a tubular vent and pours out in all directions. 77 00:08:27,715 --> 00:08:33,717 The shield volcanoes of Hawaii often produce flows of lava, which cover everything in their path. 78 00:08:35,718 --> 00:08:44,720 Stratovolcanoes include all volcanic cones formed by alternating lava flows and accumulations of fragmentary material, 79 00:08:44,720 --> 00:08:47,721 such as black butte in Northern California. 80 00:08:48,722 --> 00:08:55,724 The type of eruption that occurred on Mount St. Helens is the most deadly. It is known as a paleon explosion. 81 00:08:56,724 --> 00:09:06,728 The activity that started in March at Mount St. Helens was not all together unusual for that type of volcano. 82 00:09:07,728 --> 00:09:13,730 The same is true of Mount Rainier, for example. It's had a number of large eruptions this climb in the past. 83 00:09:15,731 --> 00:09:22,733 You can't predict with any precision whether another eruption like this might happen elsewhere in the Cascades. 84 00:09:23,733 --> 00:09:29,735 One of the things that we did learn in this eruption is that it's very dangerous to make any kind of predictions, 85 00:09:29,735 --> 00:09:33,736 or even generalities on what a volcano might do. 86 00:09:33,736 --> 00:09:40,739 You can say that something is not very likely to happen, and then sure enough, that's exactly what does happen, 87 00:09:40,739 --> 00:09:43,740 and then everybody ends up calling you fool. 88 00:09:44,740 --> 00:09:52,743 We find ourselves asking, would there be enough warning time to save homes and lives 89 00:09:52,743 --> 00:10:00,745 when other Cascade volcanoes like the sleeping giant Mount Shasta begin to awaken from their deceptive slumber? 90 00:10:01,746 --> 00:10:10,749 In 1883, Indonesia's Krakatoa erupted with an explosion considerably larger than this one recorded in 1927. 91 00:10:12,749 --> 00:10:17,751 It was heard nearly 3,000 miles away. 92 00:10:21,752 --> 00:10:29,755 One of the most devastating volcanoes of all time, Krakatoa claimed the lives of more than 96,000 people. 93 00:10:31,755 --> 00:10:40,758 The volcano produced such large quantities of material that parts of the Indian Ocean became impassable. 94 00:10:45,760 --> 00:10:50,762 In 1669, Mount Ethnet took the lives of 20,000 people. 95 00:10:51,762 --> 00:10:58,764 Many more have died as she continues to destroy farms and villages. 96 00:11:02,766 --> 00:11:08,768 In 1902, the city of St. Pierre was totally destroyed by neighboring Mount Pele. 97 00:11:08,768 --> 00:11:24,773 30,000 people were killed as the result of a highly heated, hurricane-like blast estimated at 12,000 degrees centigrade. 98 00:11:26,773 --> 00:11:30,775 An eruption of Mount Vesuvius destroyed the city of Pompeii. 99 00:11:30,775 --> 00:11:35,776 Striking with such suddenness, it mummified her inhabitants. 100 00:11:39,778 --> 00:11:50,781 How many more lives will be lost to these rivers of lava as they are released from deep within the bowels of the Earth? 101 00:11:54,783 --> 00:12:02,785 The tropical paradise of the Hawaiian Islands is in reality the top of the greatest volcanic mountain range in the world. 102 00:12:03,786 --> 00:12:12,788 Tourists come to these islands to peer into the very heart of the volcano, taunting its deadly force. 103 00:12:15,789 --> 00:12:21,791 The people of these islands have learned to coexist with this continual reminder of Mother Nature's power. 104 00:12:22,792 --> 00:12:36,796 Do we know enough about volcanoes here or anywhere else in the world to be really secure, to be able to relax believing we would be warned in time, sure the volcano erupt with deadly force? 105 00:12:38,797 --> 00:12:45,799 Scientists tell us that the cascade range of the American Northwest is a time bomb of volcanic activity. 106 00:12:46,800 --> 00:12:51,801 These volcanoes may erupt within 200 years or two days. 107 00:12:52,802 --> 00:12:54,802 Which one will next erupt? 108 00:12:55,803 --> 00:13:03,805 The ethereal Mount Hood last erupted in 1801. Will her future activity bring death to hundreds of thousands? 109 00:13:04,806 --> 00:13:15,809 Mount Mazama was totally destroyed in her last eruption, leaving only the shimmering Crater Lake. When will the stillness of her waters be shattered from within? 110 00:13:17,810 --> 00:13:29,814 The Ice-laden Mount Rainier was last heard from in 1882. If she were to erupt tomorrow, what would happen to the populations of Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia? 111 00:13:30,814 --> 00:13:39,817 Mount Shasta, the mystery mountain of California, last erupted 200 years ago. Will she last another year? 112 00:13:42,818 --> 00:13:54,822 The area around Mount Shasta is a lush recreational region. Her slopes welcome skiers in the winter. The air here is clean. The fishing is great. 113 00:13:55,822 --> 00:14:04,825 The hunting is some of the best. And the risk of death by a volcanic eruption is far greater than at Mount St. Helens. 114 00:14:06,826 --> 00:14:10,827 Yet people seem to have balanced this risk with the joys of living here. 115 00:14:11,827 --> 00:14:16,829 12,000 people make their homes in the towns that lie in the shadow of Mount Shasta. 116 00:14:17,829 --> 00:14:30,834 When Mount Shasta erupts, scientists predict with certainty that these towns will be devastated. The towns of Weed, Mount Shasta, McLeod, and Dunsnewer. 117 00:14:31,834 --> 00:14:37,836 The inhabitants of these towns have come to accept this situation and have developed emergency plans. 118 00:14:38,836 --> 00:14:48,840 What if Mount Shasta were the next to erupt? Would its beauty be destroyed, leaving a path of desolation like that of Mount St. Helens? How many lives would be lost? 119 00:14:49,840 --> 00:14:55,842 Would the people of the neighboring towns at the very base of Mount Shasta be warned in time to escape? 120 00:14:56,842 --> 00:15:07,846 Here, in a simulated evacuation created for our in-search-up cameras, residents and officials of the little town of Mount Shasta demonstrate what might happen when the mountains spring to life. 121 00:15:09,846 --> 00:15:16,849 The resort town of Mount Shasta appears peaceful enough, but it lies in the path of potential destruction. 122 00:15:17,849 --> 00:15:23,851 How will this picture change if the volcano that looms above it begins to heat up? 123 00:15:26,852 --> 00:15:31,854 Advised to begin evacuation, the National Guard will be called in by the Governor. 124 00:15:33,854 --> 00:15:37,856 Federal agencies will stand by, ready to add their support. 125 00:15:44,858 --> 00:15:48,859 Local officials will put their well-reversed evacuation plans to work. 126 00:15:49,859 --> 00:15:51,860 The GSA said the mountain's going to go. 127 00:15:51,860 --> 00:16:16,568 The 128 00:16:21,870 --> 00:16:34,514 Equipped with special maps of the region, pinpointing farms and mountain residences, the California 129 00:16:34,514 --> 00:16:39,716 Highway Patrol will join forces with local officials in an effort to evacuate surrounding 130 00:16:39,716 --> 00:16:41,836 rural and recreational areas. 131 00:16:41,836 --> 00:16:49,079 Officials here are equipped to move swiftly into these locations. 132 00:16:50,039 --> 00:16:53,800 These vast regions are often filled with campers and hikers. 133 00:16:53,800 --> 00:16:57,242 People they fear may be unable to hear the warnings. 134 00:17:20,049 --> 00:17:28,052 The towns of Weed, Monchasta, Dunsviewa and McLeod have long been aware that this could happen at any time. 135 00:17:28,052 --> 00:17:34,614 Local leaders are confident that their residents can be evacuated without incident. 136 00:17:34,614 --> 00:17:48,058 National Guard members will comb the streets on foot in order to locate any stragglers or children who may have been separated from parents and move them to evacuation centers outside the danger zone. 137 00:17:50,059 --> 00:17:56,461 If all goes as planned, the warnings will be heated. 138 00:17:56,461 --> 00:17:59,262 The streets will be deserted within hours. 139 00:17:59,262 --> 00:18:07,264 An eerie stillness will hang over the empty town as it waits for the inevitable. 140 00:18:20,069 --> 00:18:26,071 No, it hasn't happened yet. 141 00:18:26,071 --> 00:18:28,071 Monchasta still stands. 142 00:18:28,071 --> 00:18:34,073 The eruption you just saw was created by our in search of teams for the use of a model. 143 00:18:34,073 --> 00:18:40,075 Still, some scientists believe that Chasta may be the next of these slumbering giants to awaken. 144 00:18:40,075 --> 00:18:42,076 How can we predict when it will happen? 145 00:18:43,036 --> 00:18:53,039 The seismograph gives scientists an indication of volcanic activity, but it has not proven to be an accurate tool of prediction. 146 00:18:53,039 --> 00:18:57,041 Volcanologists are developing the magnetometer. 147 00:18:57,041 --> 00:19:01,042 They feel this instrument's predictive accuracy can be proven. 148 00:19:01,042 --> 00:19:07,044 However, will magnetometers be distributed throughout the cascade range in time? 149 00:19:08,004 --> 00:19:16,007 With all of their machinery and knowledge, scientists were unable to predict Mount St. Helen's eruption. 150 00:19:16,007 --> 00:19:22,009 Perhaps there is another predictive tool that should be explored, the human mind. 151 00:19:22,009 --> 00:19:28,011 With her sensitivity to harmonic tremors, Charlotte King displays an amazing accuracy. 152 00:19:28,011 --> 00:19:34,013 I started out with a severe migraine headache, which I've had since the 18th of March. 153 00:19:34,973 --> 00:19:40,975 And ever since that time element, the pain has increased and decreased with amount and activity. 154 00:19:40,975 --> 00:19:46,977 And prior to the 18th, on the Friday before, the pores on the back of my hands opened up 155 00:19:46,977 --> 00:19:49,978 and I had bleeding in the capillaries on my hands and my cheeks. 156 00:19:49,978 --> 00:19:51,979 I had a severe headache. 157 00:19:51,979 --> 00:19:54,980 I was beginning to tilt a little bit to the left of my body. 158 00:19:54,980 --> 00:19:56,980 I was having trouble maintaining balance. 159 00:19:56,980 --> 00:20:03,983 And when the evening of the 17th arrived, I got up to turn the TV station about eight o'clock. 160 00:20:03,983 --> 00:20:05,983 And I was walking right into a wall. 161 00:20:05,983 --> 00:20:10,985 At that point, I made a phone call to the TV station and told them it would go within 12 hours. 162 00:20:10,985 --> 00:20:14,986 12 hours and 12 minutes later, the eruption of May 18th occurred. 163 00:20:14,986 --> 00:20:20,988 As we watched, our in-search of cameras captured one of Charlotte's remarkable experiences. 164 00:20:20,988 --> 00:20:25,990 Something must be happening on the mountain right now because the pain is very intense. 165 00:20:25,990 --> 00:20:30,991 It's coming in ways. This is the type of pain I've had with the harmonic tremor. 166 00:20:30,991 --> 00:20:33,992 And it comes on very suddenly like that and hits very hard. 167 00:20:34,993 --> 00:20:39,994 At that exact moment, 10.56 a.m. June 25th, 168 00:20:39,994 --> 00:20:44,996 tremor activity was confirmed by the United States Geological Survey. 169 00:20:46,997 --> 00:20:54,999 Will we be forced to rely on Charlotte King to tell us when Monshasta or other cascade volcanoes will erupt? 170 00:20:56,000 --> 00:21:02,002 We attempt to understand the phenomenon of the volcano in scientific terms. 171 00:21:04,002 --> 00:21:11,004 Yet even in today's world, the Native American's understanding of the ways of nature may prove the more accurate. 172 00:21:12,005 --> 00:21:15,006 Cowlitz Indian tribal chairman Roy Wilson. 173 00:21:17,006 --> 00:21:24,009 Today as we hear the rumbling of Mount St. Helens, we hear the spirit of the mountain. 174 00:21:25,009 --> 00:21:30,011 Speaking to us of Mother Earth's concern for the life that she sustains. 175 00:21:32,011 --> 00:21:42,015 The spirits of our own departed who were buried on the mountain are coming back in spirit retribution against the white men 176 00:21:42,015 --> 00:21:48,017 who desecrated our graves, who denuded the mountain with clear-cutting the forest, 177 00:21:48,017 --> 00:21:53,018 diving up the rivers and covering the sacred places. 178 00:21:54,019 --> 00:21:56,019 We hear the spirit of the mountain. 179 00:21:57,020 --> 00:22:02,021 Speaking out that unless we change our ways, there will be greater destruction.