Mount St. Helens, Bigfoot, and the Miners Who Were Never the Same

Mount St. Helens erupted on May 18, 1980, and it did not blow its top. It blew its side, and the wall of water and debris that followed changed everything for everyone below it. In Canada, ash fell on cars in Kamloops and the cloud reached Lethbridge. Victoria and Vancouver felt a shockwave through their homes. Harry R. Truman, 83 years old, had refused to leave his lodge on Spirit Lake. In March, he said you couldn't pull him out with a mule team. He and his 16 cats were buried under 150 feet of volcanic debris. USGS scientist David Johnston was on the mountain that morning. His last four words, heard on ham radios around the world: Vancouver, Vancouver, this is it. His body was never found. His trailer turned up in 1993. Researchers believe the mountain is already inside the 30 to 100 year window for another eruption. Topics: Mount St. Helens, Harry R. Truman, David Johnston, Mount St. Helens 1980, Canadian ash fall GUEST: Ed Conroy | retroontario.com | @retrontario Originally aired on 2026-05-14