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It's just before 8.30am on May 18, 1980, at an observation post just six miles away from Mount

St. Helens. A lanky bearded man with a crop of golden hair sits on a metal chair

propped up at the edge of a stony ridge. As the first rays of sunlight brighten the jagged

peak of Mount St. Helens, 30-year-old David Johnston scribbles intently in the notebook on his lap,

recording his observations about the mountain before him. At over 8,000 feet,

Mount St. Helens towers over the surrounding National Forest. For over a century, the volcano

has been dormant, but two months ago, that started to change. In recent weeks,

Mount St. Helens has been riddled with small eruptions and earthquakes. Some scientists think that

the volcano is slowly stirring back to life. David is one of them. A volcanologist for the United

States Geological Survey, he's one of the many scientists monitoring the mountains reawakening.

As David closes his notebook, he looks up at the snow cap peak of the volcano. His eyes are

drawn to the unusual bulge on the north face of Mount St. Helens. It's the result of magma being

pushed up within the peak, a concerning sign that an eruption may be near. The observation post

David is manning has been set up to keep tabs on the rate at which that bulge is growing.

Leaning back in his chair, David John softly. He woke up at the crack of dawn to measure the bulge,

and the early start is beginning to tire him. Balling up his fists, David rubs his eyes drowsily,

but just as he starts to nod off, quiet rumbling jerks him awake. David's eyes dart toward

Mount St. Helens, and his jaw drops. The north face of the mountain is vibrating. For a moment,

he doesn't trust his eyes, squinting to get a closer look. Then all of a sudden, the swollen

...