Where were you when Mount St. Helens blew?

By KVAL.com staff Published: May 17, 2010 at 6:03 PM PDT Last Updated: May 18, 2010 at 10:07 AM PDT
Where were you when Mount St. Helens blew?
Beginning of pyroclastic flow from the August 7, 1980, eruption that followed the May 18, 1980, event. USGS Photograph taken on August 7, 1980, by Peter W. Lipman.

EUGENE, Ore. -- Americans watched Mount St. Helens blow on television as images of the eruption and subsequent ashfall were shown around the world.

What is hard for those who weren't here to grasp, however, is the magnitude of the blast and the impact.

The eruption was visible from Interstate 84 in Oregon.

Students in the Portland area wore ash masks to the bus stop.

And gardeners benefited from the ash plume, that left plots more fertile than before the mountain's remains fell from the sky.

Where were you the day Mount St. Helens blew? Share your story by posting a comment or vote in our poll.