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Pullout: Link to a live view of the mountain from the Columbia Basin Herald's Web site at www.columbiabasinherald.com.<br>Courtesy of Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce<br>(street scene)<br>Photos like this offer a glimpse into life in the Basin in the ensuing weeks after May 18, 1980 when the eruption of Mount St. Helens covered the area in volcanic ash. <br>(for footprints)<br>"When we pulled into town it looked like a moonscape," remembered Ron PuFahl, who was the assistant circulation director for the Columbia Basin Herald in 1980. <br>(cloud of impending doom)<br>Basin residents could see the ash cloud coming when Mount St. Helens blew its top on May 18, 1980.<br>Herald file photo<br>Basin residents Rich Ulman, left, and Jeff Hertz used brooms to clean ash off the roofs of local homes to avoid catastrophe if a rainstorm hit. The ash, when wet, weighed as much as 90 pounds per cubic foot and could easily collapse a roof.

Pullout: Link to a live view of the mountain from the Columbia Basin Herald's Web site at www.columbiabasinherald.com.<br>Courtesy of Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce<br>(street scene)<br>Photos like this offer a glimpse into life in the Basin in the ensuing weeks after May 18, 1980 when the eruption of Mount St. Helens covered the area in volcanic ash. <br>(for footprints)<br>"When we pulled into town it looked like a moonscape," rememb…

October 5, 2004

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Volcano watch exercises Basin memories
October 5, 2004 9 p.m.

Volcano watch exercises Basin memories

Locals remember big blast of 1980 as Mount St. Helens watch continues