Today in History: Volcano!

On this day (May Eighteen) in 1980, Mount St. Helens erupted in Washington State. The large scale flow of lava flattened vegetation over 230 square miles. For more than 9 hours hot ash erupted to a height of 12-16 miles above sea level. The eruption killed 57 people and some 7,000 big game animals. It is also estimated that 12 million fish died. The overall economic damage has been calculated at $3 billion.