The Big Guy

State Geologist Ernest Housel (Documentary Photo #ss332):

Most in the geological community knew about Helens.  Alerts were sent out, of course, but nobody wants to believe that their home is about to be destroyed.

The eruption had little impact on the site: only a one to two centimeter layer of ash was visible in the excavation and, due to the various protrusions of trash and irregularities in the surface, could easily be missed.

I can remember the explosion. It seemed sudden to me, not blanketing the land, but blanketing the news and dinner conversation.  Pictures of people, houses and cars coated in dirt, which I would later associate with Pompeii, and slow motion film of the eruption itself, the mountain’s bulge, dominated the elementary school rooms of Idaho Falls, Idaho. I couldn’t understand how something so incredible hadn’t been on television prior to the explosion. Somebody had to know it was going to happen.

Evidence at the site: one to two centimeter layer of ash.

Gay Man

Housing Contractor Mike Rigney (Documentary photo #34dq1):

Protecting a home from something like St. Helens is easy with foreknowledge and provided you're a good distance from the eruption.