3A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, MAY 18, 2018
How dangerous are the Northwest’s volcanoes?
Anniversary
of Mount St.
Helens eruption
By MacGREGOR
CAMPBELL
Oregon Public Broadcasting
If you live in the Pacific
Northwest, chances are good
you can see a volcano from
where you stand.
In Oregon, Washington
state and Idaho, magma has
erupted out of the ground in
at least 25 places in the last
10,000 years, a mere instant in
the lifetime of volcanoes that
can be hundreds of thousands
of years old.
“There’s reason to believe
it could happen again,” said
Seth Moran, scientist in
charge at the U.S. Geologi-
cal Survey Cascades Volcano
Observatory in Vancouver,
Washington.
At 8:32 in the morning
on May 18, 1980, the most
famous Northwest volcano,
Mount St. Helens, woke up,
spewing ash for hundreds of
miles, devastating the nearby
landscape and killing 57
people.
The volcano stirred again
in 2004 and 2008.
“Mount St. Helens is the
Wikimedia Commons
Mount St. Helens erupted on May 18, 1980.
poster child for a very tempes-
tuous volcano,” Moran said.
But what about the other
hot spots in the Cascades?
Are we going to wake up one
morning to a new Mount St.
Helens?
Moran’s team, along with
partners at the University of
Washington, keep watch. They
measure earthquakes, ground
warping and gas emissions, all
caused by magma from deep in
the earth making its way to the
surface. These volcanic vital
signs let geologists compare
what a volcano is doing today
compared to what it normally
does and has done in the past.
“That allows us to estab-
lish a range of potential behav-
iors,” Moran said.
Each volcano has its own
personality. Mount Baker in
Washington state emits a lot
of gas, but doesn’t erupt very
often. Mount Rainier, near
Seattle, is the icy giant. It’s not
likely to explode like Mount
St. Helens, but could create
large mudflows — think rivers
of flowing concrete — caused
by smaller eruptions melting
the mountain’s ice.
Mount Hood is similar to
Rainier, not subject to large
explosions, but rather smaller
eruptions on its sides. Because
so many people live on and
play on the mountain, Hood’s
small eruptions, and the sub-
sequent landslides and mud-
flows they create, can present
a danger.
Mount St. Helens gener-
ally has fewer people around,
but is far more active. It erupts
once or twice a century, on
average. It’s so active, the cur-
rent mountain is only about
4,000 years old, compared to
hundreds of thousand of years
for other Cascade volcanoes.
The other volcanoes in Ore-
gon vary widely. Mount Jef-
ferson and Mount Bachelor in
central Oregon have been rel-
atively quiet for tens of thou-
sands of years.
“They may be done,”
Moran said.
South Sister erupts every
couple of thousand years on
average. Newberry Crater
erupts more frequently and
can generate rivers of lava,
similar to Hawaii’s famous
Kilauea volcano.
Then there’s Crater Lake in
southern Oregon. What’s now
a lake was once a mountain
comparing in size to Mount
Rainier.
Around 5600 B.C., an
eruption 50 times the size of
Mount St. Helens in 1980 lev-
eled the mountain. Moran
said that Crater Lake may not
be done and is high on the
observatory’s list of potential
threats.
Three more volcanoes
round out the Cascade range:
California’s Lassen Peak,
Mount Shasta and Medicine
Lake.
Moran said these volca-
noes don’t typically explode
without warning. They have a
baseline of earthquake, ground
deformation and gas activity,
even when they aren’t erupt-
ing. The pattern of that activ-
ity can be a clue to what will
happen next. For example,
an earthquake followed by a
series of successively smaller
earthquakes, might indicate
normal seismic activity. But
an earthquake followed by a
series of larger earthquakes
might indicate an eruption is
brewing.
Moran said the goal is not
to predict which volcano will
erupt when, but rather to pro-
vide a forecast, similar to a
weather forecast. There will
always be a range of uncer-
tainty with an active volcano
he said, “but the goal … is to
get that uncertainty to a range
that society can live with.”
Restitution could top $36 million for teen who ignited Eagle Creek Fire
Judge will rule
on the amount
By AMELIA
TEMPLETON
Oregon Public Broadcasting
The 15-year-old boy who
pleaded guilty to igniting the
Eagle Creek Fire in the Colum-
bia River Gorge last September
could be required to pay more
than $36 million in restitution to
11 parties related to fire damage.
Judge John Olson did not
reach a decision on how much
to award in court and said he
would issue a written order on
the amount of restitution as
early as today.
The unnamed Vancouver,
Washington, teen did not attend
the restitution hearing in Hood
River County Thursday morn-
ing. He was represented by his
attorney, Jack Morris.
Morris described the $36
million figure as “absurd.” In
filings and in court, Morris
argued that Oregon’s restitution
statute, which requires judges
to impose the full amount of
restitution sought by victims,
is unconstitutional when it is
applied to juvenile defendants.
“Kids are different,” Morris
said. “They are entitled to indi-
vidual consideration.”
He noted that his client is
considered indigent and urged
the judge to award a smaller
amount that his client could
more plausibly pay back.
“We are not saying that no
Tristan Fortsch/KATU-TV
The Eagle Creek Fire was set by a teenager playing with
firecrackers.
restitution should be imposed,”
he said.
Morris noted U.S. Supreme
Court rulings in death penalty
and life without parole cases
that have held that juveniles are
entitled to different consider-
ation by the courts.
He suggested that the resti-
tution order could prevent the
teen from qualifying for a home
loan, car insurance and other
forms of credit.
“The actual act here is
throwing a couple of firecrack-
ers,” he said. “It’s a 15-year-old
boy that did something incredi-
bly stupid.”
Attorneys for the state
pushed Olson to impose the full
amount and defended the con-
stitutionality of Oregon’s resti-
tution law.
They noted that in juve-
nile cases, a judge can forgive
a dependent’s obligation to pay
WANTED
Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber
Northwest Hardwoods • Longview, WA
Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500
restitution after 10 years if the
defendant meets certain criteria.
“There is an end point in 10
years,” said Hood River Dis-
trict Attorney John Sewell. “It
is not as draconian and absolut-
ist as counsel says.”
The U.S. Forest Service
reported the largest damages
from the fire at $21.1 million.
The Oregon Department of
Transportation reported $12.5
million, the Oregon State Fire
Marshall $1.6 million and the
Union Pacific Railroad more
than $1 million. Oregon State
Parks, Allstate and four private
property owners sought smaller
amounts of restitution.
Olson said he would take
time to consider the constitu-
tional arguments before reach-
ing a decision in the case.
He noted that the highest
amount of restitution he’d pre-
viously been aware of awarded
in a juvenile case was just
$114,000.
“It is an extraordinary
amount of restitution,” Olson
said. “It is an extraordinary
amount of loss.”
Olson sentenced the teen-
ager in February to five years
of probation and 1,920 hours
of community service with the
U.S. Forest Service.
The boy and his family
have cooperated with inves-
tigators, and in February he
pleaded guilty to 12 charges,
including reckless burning,
criminal mischief and reckless
endangerment.
At the time of the fire, wit-
nesses described seeing a child
lobbing a firecracker down a
canyon before the area erupted
in smoke and flames. More
than 100 hikers and dogs were
stranded in the area overnight.
The fire burned nearly
49,000 acres. It was extin-
guished in November, destroy-
ing homes and trails in the
Gorge. It also forced businesses
to close, displaced people for
days and shut down both Inter-
state 84 and the Historic Colum-
bia River Highway. Portions of
the highway remain closed.
Gorge residents impacted
by the fire left the hearing
disappointed.
Paul Smith, who lives near
Stevenson on the Washing-
ton side of the Gorge, said he
didn’t seek financial restitution
for his losses in the fire but had
hoped for a chance to speak at
the hearing.
Smith evacuated his farm
when the fire jumped across
the Columbia River and began
burning on the Washington side
of the Gorge.
“We had two dogs, five
horses and 10 chickens,” he said.
Smith said he had to put
down his 32-year-old gray
appaloosa mare, Pondie, due to
stress and smoke inhalation.
“I’m not seeking restitu-
tion,” he said. “I just wanted to
say my piece.”
C E L E B R AT I NG
30
-est-
1988
years
May 19 , 2018
6AM - 7PM
providing a place to go
other than work or home
since 1989
giveaways • food • fun
live music 5:30 - 7:00 PM
sale 30 % off one item
45 E Columbia River Hwy
Clatskanie, OR
503-728-4222
Volunteer
SEASIDE AMERICAN LEGION
th
6 ANNUAL
NEW ENGLAND
Pick of the Week
Buddy
LIVE
five year
old male
Chihuahua
LOBSTER FEED
SATURDAY, MAY 26 TH • 4-8 PM
Oh to be faring forth with
your very best Buddy - this
most happy fella’.
He’s irresistible.
$
Advanced Ticket Sales 29 For Lobster
Alternative? 12oz New York Strip Steak - Just $ 20
All Dinners served with baked potato, baked beans & coleslaw
Enjoy music by : “Mark Dove” & Friends
503-738-5111 • 1315 Broadway in Seaside
See more on Petfinder.com
Sponsored
By
B AYSHORE
A NIMAL H OSPITAL
C LATSOP C OUNTY A NIMAL S HELTER
1315 SE 19 th Street, Warrenton • 861 - PETS
www.dogsncats.org
Noon to 4pm, Tues-Sat
LEWIS & CLARK
TIMBERLANDS
Recreational Access
Permit Public Notice
The family of Rusty Donaldson will never
forget the love and thoughtfulness given
to us during our recent time of sadness at
the loss of our husband, father, brother,
grandfather and uncle.
Thank you to all who sent cards, brought
food, made contributions and sent flowers.
It was so appreciated.
Marsha and Kurt Donaldson
Martha and Dale McGinty
Jennie Mathre
All recreational
activities on Lewis
& Clark Timberlands
Oregon will require
a no fee recreational
permit effective
June 1, 2018
SILHOUETTE ® CLEARVIEW™ SHADINGS
Soften harsh sunlight and save
with Hunter Douglas window fashions.
Enjoy generous rebates on qualifying purchases
of light-diffusing styles April 14–June 25, 2018.
100 ON QUALIFYING PURCHASES
REBATES STARTING AT $
To acquire a permit (available 5/21/18): Go
online to greenwoodresources.com and click
on Recreation Access, or Scan the QR code
using your smartphone at one of our access
gate signs. Call 503.755.6655 for recorded
information.
Our goal is to provide a quality recreational
experience while improving communications
with our timberland visitors.
*
Budget Blinds of the Oregon
Coast & Southwest Washington
North Oregon Coast - 503-738-5242
Lincoln City - 541-994-9954
Southwest Washington - 503-738-5242
www.budgetblinds.com
Manufacturer’s mail-in rebate offer valid for qualifying purchases made 4/14/18–6/25/18 from participating dealers in the U.S. only. Offer excludes
HDOrigins ™ and Nantucket ™ Window Shadings, a collection of Silhouette ® Window Shadings. Rebate will be issued in the form of a prepaid reward card
and mailed within 4 weeks of rebate claim receipt. Funds do not expire. Subject to applicable law, a $2.00 monthly fee will be assessed against card
balance 6 months after card issuance and each month thereafter. Additional limitations may apply. Ask participating dealer for details and rebate form.
©2018 Hunter Douglas. All rights reserved. All trademarks used herein are the property of Hunter Douglas or their respective owners. 18Q2NPSCVC1