Minute by Minute: The Eruption of Mount St. Helens

I lost my brother that day...not a day goes by i dont think of him! He saved 6 people from imminent death and gave the ultimate sacrifice and im so very proud yet heartbroken to this day its bitter sweet...rip my big brother

I was one of the first helicopters on the scene that day and this docu brought back many memories of that mission. I was a pilot for a well known Aviation company from McMinnville, OR and will never forget the devastation I witnessed. One of my missions was to fly geologists into and around the crater in between the two major eruptions to visually measure/estimate the size of the daily growth of the gaps (fissures) in the lava dome forming in the crater. This gave them an estimate of when the next eruption, if any, would occur. It was a memorable experience!

Finally a channel that doesn't show a ad every 2 minutes . Thank you for these documentaries .

I feel so bad for the loss of David Johnston. He was actually 'subbing' for someone else. He saved a lot of lives because of his diligence!

The yellow shirt guy seems proud for not listening to the warning.. kinda irritating to listen to.

I remember after the eruption, a group of people decided to sue the state. A judge threw the whole suit out saying you were warned to stay out, several times. You don’t get to sue for that.

Mt. St.Helens was signalling trouble for weeks. I can’t understand why anyone, especially those with very young children, would go camping anywhere near that mountain. Those who were working there had no choice, but some did.

It was hard to watch how callous Robert Rogers about the whole situation. I can't imagine what everyone else went through.

I miss that old school A&E.! How times have changed.

8:28 Local: “I’m not afraid!” Yoda (whose big-screen debut would be just four days later): “Oh, you will be. You will be!”

This is so riveting, I watched it twice. Once by myself, and then I had to make my husband watch it too. We were born in 83 & 84, so we weren't in existence yet when this happened. I've known, peripherally, about the eruption, but I never got this level of detail about it. Absolutely terrifying. No disrespect to the folks who went through this, and especially not to the ones who lost their lives--I understand that as time went on, it became more and more difficult to convince people of the impending danger. But I was very struck by Robert Rogers' flippant attitude. Maybe he just has a different kind of coping mechanism, but it felt very disrespectful to the gravity of the situation. How lovely for him that he, essentially, effed around and found out, and lived to tell the tale, while many others weren't so lucky. I found his take on things to be a bit tasteless. A tiny bit of humility wouldn't hurt him. I also wonder what happened to the "we pay our taxes!" people who signed waivers to get back on their properties. Did they later have to be rescued? It's hard not to notice some of the parallels with current events, yeah? Makes you realize some things really never change. Anyways, thank you for sharing this informative piece. I'll be carrying it with me long after viewing.

I stumbled across this video on YouTube and I am so grateful. This documentary was so well done; I appreciate the people who made it. Thank you.

My dad's family had been staying in Yakima during the eruption and called home (Spokane) to warn relatives once it occured. The neighbors were confused as to why my great uncle was outside covering the cars with tarps. They soon got their answer when ash began falling from the sky. There was so much of it despite the distance and it ended up getting into a lot of car engines, ruining them, but since my uncle had a warning, he was able to prepare and save his cars. I still have some ash jars that my grandma had scooped up out of the street from it.

This is a much more informative program than you see on A&E these days.

" I'm not afraid. " Famous last words.

It's one of the few times people had ample warning, even though many ignored it. Scientists were knowledgeable enough to save lives.

this documentary was released 21 years after the event ... and im watching it 21 years after the documentary

Just showed this video to my teenagers. So interesting. They had both learned about in school but were so surprised at the sheer scope of the event. Thank you for posting.

To this day when you drive certain portions of Oregon highway you can still see the huge piles of ash on the roadside now grown over with grass. The amount of debris and dirt that was spewed and the energy it took to send it out for miles and miles is mind boggling.

It was truly a miracle that these helicopters’ engines didn’t choke while looking for & picking up survivors. My family had to evacuate our home due to an uncontrolled raging fire. The ash had been flowing like snow for 3 days by that time, had 5 mins to gather kids & pets, throw everyone in the van. Husband hopped on his bike, but called me after 15 mbs, his bike’s engine choked w/ash, drivers weren’t allowed to pull over or stop. We were bumper/bumper.. Hubby had to run carrying heavy duffle bag with food & essentials. He caught up, barely able to breathe due to ash inhalation. Lucky that eruption didn’t claim more victims. RIP