The blast cloud reached him before he could put the key in the ignition. The car windows facing the volcano blew out. The Volvo quickly filled with burning hot ash. Blackburn tried to breathe, but the blast cloud contained little oxygen. His nose, mouth, and lungs filled with ash. Ash from Mount St. Helens tastes like chalk dust mixed with metal; it smells like a dry field stirred by the wind on a hot day.
