On May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens in Washington state erupted in a deadly blast. Although scientists had predicted an eruption and had been monitoring the volcano for two months beforehand, no one had been sure when the mountain would explode or how powerful the explosion would be. The volcano surprised everyone. Its blast was far more destructive than anyone had imagined, killing dozens of people and causing billions of dollars in damage. Two days after the blast, a group of scientists took a helicopter ride to the volcano. They wanted to see how much damage had been done. Most of them were stunned to see the once-lush forests and lakes now only a gray, flat landscape. Writer Dick Thompson describes the scene that met the scientists that day:

In the devastated area, there was no sound of birds or wind blowing through the trees, no rushing water, no electric...