FROM THE ARCHIVE: Look back at 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption 10 years later

ABC7 News went to Mount St. Helens in Washington state in 1990, nearly ten years after destructive eruption

BySteve Davis, Justin Mendoza KGO logo
Tuesday, May 11, 2021
Look back at 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption 10 years later
ABC7 News went to Mount St. Helens in 1990, nearly ten years after its massive volcanic eruption. (Photo: AP)

MOUNT ST. HELENS, Wash. (KGO) -- For two months in 1980, Mount St. Helens in Washington state experienced of series of earthquakes and small explosions.

Then on May 18, 1980 at 8:32a.m., the volcano erupted, blowing off more than a thousand feet from the mountain and spewing 900,000 tons of hot ash over the state.

The eruption took 57 lives and caused more than a billion dollars in damage.

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Nearly ten years after the massive eruption, late ABC7 News reporter Steve Davis and his photographer visited Mount St. Helens to see its impact on the Pacific Northwest, particularly Moses Lake, which is located five hours away from the mountain.

In this edition of "From The Archive," we take a look back at a follow-up piece of the most destructive volcanic eruption in the United States that aired on February 13, 1990.

You can watch more stories from KGO-TV's archive on the "ABC7 Bay Area" app on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire and Android TV in the "From The Archive" section.