Looking at some old Forest Service photos. Here's the Visitors Information Center at Spirit Lake, circa 1970.
It was here that Ranger Sharon Burchard felt the M4.1 earthquake on March 20, 1980, that indicated something was up at the mountain.
Now let's look nearby on May 23, 1980, and...oh.
Phreatic vents shoot steam and ash into the air on the lake's new south shore.
The Center would've been in the center, trending right, now buried under 200+ ft of landslide material and lake water.
Jan 22, 2026 01:26
