After a May 14 landslide washed out an 85-foot bridge on the road to Johnston Ridge Observatory at Mount St. Helens, seven cars were left abandoned.
Fortunately, the incident hurt no one, and because it was at night, only a dozen people were stranded at the observatory until an air rescue by King County Sheriff’s Office helicopters the following day.
However, seven cars were left at the ridge, and two of those were rentals.
On Friday, July 14, exactly two months from the landslide, the vehicles and owners were reunited.
One of the rental car drivers was “a gentleman from Europe,” said Paul Mason, project manager with the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT).
The slide “definitely affected folks that were not necessarily local,” Mason added. Work began in late June on a temporary fix for the road, state Route 504, also called the Spirit Lake Highway. The permanent fix likely won’t be completed for years, Mason said, due to the complicated National Environmental Protection Act processes involved in restoring roads at the National Volcanic Monument. But, construction crews were able to patch it up enough for seven cars.
The patch also allows for U.S. Forest Service personnel to visit the observatory and, in 2024, will likely allow public access to the ridge to be restored.
In the meantime, public access at the National Volcanic Monument ends just a few miles before Johnston Ridge, leaving many of the monument’s most scenic visits open, including Coldwater Lake, the Hummocks Trail and the Ape Caves. Forest Road 99 is now open, which provides access to Windy Ridge from the north.
The Mount St. Helens Institute, at the Coldwater Science and Learning Center, is also hosting interpretive programs from the Forest Service along with its usual educational opportunities.
Plan a trip to the national monument at.fs.usda.gov/visit/destination/mount-st-helens-na tional-volcanic-monu ment-0.
