In Our View: Volcano Has Our Respect

Here in Clark County, we have a healthy respect for — and an abiding interest in — volcanoes. That is what happens when the most famous volcano in the continental United States is within sight.

Memories of the Mount St. Helens explosion have erupted — sorry — this week as the Kilauea volcano has spewed lava and gas over parts of Hawaii. After all, it was almost 38 years ago, on May 18, 1980, that Mount St. Helens altered the landscape of northern Skamania County and the lives of countless people in Washington.

The 57 fatalities included Columbian photographer Reid Blackburn, as well as 83-year-old Harry R. Truman, who lived near the mountain and became a bit of a folk hero by declining to leave as an eruption grew imminent. Officials provided plenty of warning that the mountain was about to blow, but few anticipated the extent of the blast — assessed to be more powerful than any nuclear bomb. Hundreds of square miles of landscape were rendered a wasteland by gasses and debris, and a plume extended 80,000 feet into the atmosphere. Ash was so thick that complete darkness was reported in Yakima and Spokane.

The ongoing eruption in Hawaii has come without the explosiveness of the Mount St. Helens eruption, but it has the added feature of lava flows. At least two dozen homes and buildings have been destroyed by the slow but unstoppable magma that scorches everything in its path (video: tinyurl.com/yd2ba22r), but as yet no deaths have been reported.

Along the way, Kilauea has reminded us of the awesome power and astonishing secrets that reside inside the Earth. As Michael Guillen wrote for FoxNews.com: “There’s one other important thing I wish more people realized and respected about volcanoes. Not only are they a vital sign indicating the Earth is alive and well, they help keep us humble. Or should.”

Fissures have developed in the earth and have split roads, allowing noxious gasses to escape. The Civil Defense Agency has warned that sulfur dioxide is “a threat to all who become exposed,” and it can make breathing difficult at ground level. Released into the atmosphere in sufficient quantities, the gas can lower the temperature of the planet. The 1883 explosion of Krakatoa in the Indonesian archipelago is believed to have impacted global temperatures for several years.

For all of humanity’s cleverness, we have yet to devise a way to prevent volcanoes from acting like volcanoes. As Guillen wrote: “Volcanoes are Earth’s way of venting the excess heat that builds up deep beneath its surface. The heat is a combination of energy released by radioactivity in rocks, along with leftover energy generated when the planet was forged 4.5 billion years ago. . . . Slowly, relentlessly, the subterranean rivers of molten rock — magma — bully their way through the Earth’s mantle and crust, seeking an escape route.”

In other words, without volcanic eruptions, the Earth would explode. We’re guessing that would be a little more problematic than an occasional eruption. Meanwhile, the thought adds to our fascination with volcanoes. The Cascades, Mount Rainier, Mount Hood, Mount Shasta and others have a history of erupting, but Mount St. Helens is the only one to show recent activity.

That, of course, could change. For now, we shall be content to turn our interest in volcanoes to Hawaii, offering best wishes to residents there and simply watching from afar.