Ashfall in Yakima: Reaction and recovery

The 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens blanketed the Yakima Valley under volcanic ash, setting the stage for a remarkable 10-day stretch of reaction and recovery. In a nutshell, here's what happened:

Sunday, May 18

The 8:32 a.m. eruption sent a 10-mile-high plume of dark ash into the air and toward Central Washington. By 10 a.m., the first cloud of gray grit rolled into Yakima, turning day into night. Within a half-hour, the Yakima airport was closed. Interstate 90 quickly followed suit, as did all major routes in and out of the city.

Telephone service was spotty as callers jammed lines. Police repeatedly used the "don't" word -- don't drive, don't leave home, don't use phones except for emergencies, don't leave animals out, don't panic. Most people wisely got off the roads, going home or to emergency centers set up at school gymnasiums and churches, or to tourist lodges, community halls and police stations. By nightfall, only two minor injury accidents had been reported.

Monday, May 19

Day broke to an eerie moonscape of ash. Officials said the ash might have high sulfur levels and washing it away could be bad. But nobody was sure. Residents at one house might be running a sprinkler and snow-snoveling the wet ash aside, while their neighbors were sweeping it into neat, dry piles. Others simply stayed indoors. Most businesses remained closed. City buses, garbage trucks and postal vehicles never left their lots. Grocery stores, a few pharmacies and restaurants were all that remained open.

Yakima's three street sweepers worked furiously to clear city roads, but they weren't nearly enough. As grocery shelves rapidly became depleted -- some people were hoarding in preparation for a lengthy shutdown -- Safeway organized a nine-truck convoy to Yakima. But I-90's closure put the shipment on hold. By evening, U.S. Highway 97 over Satus Pass was the only major route into the Valley. By nightfall, you couldn't find a protective facemask anywhere. They were sold out.

Tuesday, May 20

Reversing previous warnings about the ash, state agriculture officials told farmers to "wash it off." Life went on pretty much as usual throughout the relatively ash-free Lower Valley. But in the Upper Yakima Valley, schools remained closed. So did most Yakima businesses, which lost an estimated $1.3 million for every day their doors remained locked.

To keep down dust, a 15 mph speed limit for city traffic was announced. To slow motorists, residents made speed bumps out of ash. Some sprayed garden hoses at speeders or confronted them. Police broke up several fistfights involving drivers whose speed irked those around them. That evening, President Jimmy Carter declared the state a disaster area.

Wednesday, May 21

Things began to move. At 10 a.m., authorities allowed slow-moving traffic on the Yakima River Canyon highway. At noon, Chinook Pass opened. Not that many people wanted to drive; there were persistent warnings the ash would destroy engines and transmissions.

Ash gummed up the works so badly at Yakima's waste treatment plant that it risked a possible four-month shutdown for massive repairs. City and state officials decided to bypass treatment, sending more than 11 million gallons of raw sewage into the Yakima River daily.

County officials took a guess at what the total ash damage in Yakima County would be. Their wild stab: $50 million.

Thursday, May 22

Yakima officials declared a four-day blockade of the downtown core, to run Friday through Monday, while the city attempted to clean up the ash. It took crews up to three hours to clean up a half-block. From each block they hauled away about 50 cubic yards of ash.

Friday, May 23

City officials gave downtown businesses until 5 a.m. Saturday to have all the ash around their property swept up and ready for pickup. Only necessary personnel were allowed into the downtown core, and mostly only on foot. And there would be no looting of vacant businesses, either -- anyone walking in the restricted area was stopped and questioned by police.

And more help was on the horizon: Gov. Dixy Lee Ray called out the National Guard to help clean up Yakima's blanket of ash.

Saturday, May 24

Memorial Day weekend. Police urged people to stay home, not that they could get far anyway. The downtown cleanup, bolstered by the arrival of roughly 100 National Guardsmen, was well ahead of schedule despite gusty winds making ash an illusive target. The airport was now 80 percent cleared of ash. Local hospitals reported that while supplies were below normal, there were no critical shortages.

Sunday, May 25

It was a good-news, scary-news day. The Yakima airport officially opened for incoming flights at 9 a.m., but gusty winds and blowing dust kept most planes away. City officials held their breath upon reports of another eruption at Mount St. Helens. But this time the ash blew to the southeast, missing Yakima.

Monday, May 26

With the downtown basically cleaned, street crews began hitting residential areas. The city announced that buses would be running again by Tuesday, if only on a limited basis. The city's waste treatment plant went back on line. And schools that had been closed for a week reopened.

Tuesday, May 27

At 6:45 a.m., Hughes Airwest scheduled its first flight out of the airport in more than a week. And those five days of missed school? Well, the students wouldn't have to make them up, but Yakima teachers were told they'd be coming in to school for an extra week after the end of the regular school year -- putting teachers and their unions at odds with the state Office of Public Education.

Yes, things were back to normal.

* Compiled by Scott Sandsberry from Yakima Herald-Republic file stories