On the evening of May 18, 1980, volcanologist David A. Johnston of the U.S. Geological Survey was stationed at a field post on Coldwater Ridge in Washington, about 6 miles from Mount St. Helens, monitoring the restless volcano after weeks of escalating earthquakes, steam blasts, and visible deformation of the mountain’s north flank. Johnston was regarded as one of the leading young experts on volcanic hazards, and he had been warning that the bulging north side could fail catastrophically, sendi

On May 18, 1980, 30 year old USGS geologist David A. Johnston was monitoring Mount St. Helens from a ridge known as Coldwater II in Washington. At 8:32 a.m., a massive earthquake triggered the largest landslide in recorded history, causing the entire north face of the volcano to collapse. Johnston was the first to witness the catastrophic lateral blast and immediately radioed his famous final words: Vancouver! Vancouver! This is it! The horror of the event was the sheer physical force of the exp