Disclaimer: Mike & Kelly Roark and Dr. Amy Barnes
from Volcano are property of 20th Century Fox. Harry Dalton, Rachel, Lauren and
Graham Wando from Dante's Peak are property of Universal Pictures. I am not
making any money, and it was written only for enjoyment for myself and other
fans.
Rated PG-13
Summer, 1997:
After Harry Dalton and the Wando family were rescued from the mine at Dante's
Peak, they spent an overnight at the hospital for observation. Harry was
treated for his wound. All of them were released the next morning. Both Harry
and Rachel decided to move to Portland, Oregon. They fell in love and decided
to move in together. They had rented a house near Mt. Tabor Park and signed for
an option to buy the house. Harry said, "I would like to take you up to
Timberline Lodge at Mt. Hood just for us. We could spend a day hiking on the
Pacific Crest Trail."
Rachel replied, "It sounds
like a good idea. Lauren and Graham would love to spend a couple of days with
my aunt. She moved to Portland just last winter. Whenever they see my aunt,
they really like to spend a day at the zoo."
Harry replied, "Speaking
about the zoo, we could really hike to the place known as Forest Park. At
Forest Park, there is the Wildwood Trail that goes about 22 miles. It starts
right from the Zoo's OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry) parking lot,
and it goes way out near St. Johns Bridge. A few years ago, I had hiked from
McCleary Park all the way to crossing St. Johns Bridge"
Rachel said, "I sure hope
that Mt. Hood doesn't erupt during our lifetime."
Harry replied, "It came
close a couple of times. There was a volcano watch just couple of years after
the eruption of Mt. St Helens and it quieted down again. Mt. Tabor Park was a
volcano that had been extinct several thousand years ago."
Lauren replied, "If Mt.
Tabor ever erupts, Portland would be the second active volcano city just like
Los Angeles. Did you know La Brae Tar Pits became Mt. Wilshire?"
Harry replied, "Yes, I
remember that. This was a coincidence. This would be first time that two
volcanoes erupted in the United States for one year. The one from La Brae Tar
Pits erupted just about 4 months before Dante's Peak."
The next day, Harry and Rachel
went to Mt. Hood and her kids stayed at her aunt's house. Harry decided to go
to Timothy Lake to hike around. It was a hot day and both of them were
attempting to swim in the lake. Rachel said, "We should have brought our swimsuits.
We could just go skinny dipping."
Harry replied, "I had gone
skinny dipping at this lake several years ago with several people. People have
done it lots of times here, especially during the 70's. I have seen people in
their 50's and 60's doing that."
After a couple of hours of skinny
dipping, they had returned to Timberline Lodge. During the dinner, they met Dr.
Amy Barnes and Mike Roark from Los Angeles. Dr. Barnes said, "I'm also a
geologist from Los Angeles. I was there when the volcano erupted from La Brae
Tar Pits. I had lost one of my best friends when we were checking out the sewer
line. We were just moving to Portland. When I was over in England for two
years, I just happened to like the climate there. This place I'm now moving to
would be quite similar to the English climate."
Harry replied, "Maybe you
could work with me. I do travel to different volcanoes whenever they are
becoming active."
Dr. Amy Barnes and Mike Roark
stayed at Timberline Lodge. They both fell in love and romanced during that
night. The following year, both Dr. Barnes and Mike got married. Harry and
Rachel had also got married.
Summer 2002:
Evacuation from Mt. Hood
Rachel was running for
mayor of Portland. There had been a volcano watch warning at Mt. Hood. Several
tremors had rocked Mt. Hood. Dr. Amy Barnes Roark, Harry Dalton and the
geologist crew were getting ready to go to Mt. Hood to investigate the volcano
activity. They all went to Timberline Lodge and noticed the water had sulfur
coming from the faucets. Harry said, "This is exactly what happened at
Dante’s Peak shortly before the eruption."
Dr. Amy replied, "We'd
better check that out. I don't like the looks of that."
Another earthquake was felt at
Timberline Lodge. Harry and Dr. Amy went to the water storage and discovered
the sulfur was leaking into the water supply and it was steaming. "Harry
said, "We must go back to Timberline Lodge and tell everyone to evacuate.
This is going to be very serious."
Dr. Amy replied, "I'm afraid
this will be a major eruption. We must evacuate the whole Mt. Hood area. I had
just noticed the bulge is much bigger near the crater. If you remember the Mt.
St. Helens, it blew out more than 3000 feet of the mountain."
After they returned to Timberline
Lodge, Dr. Amy announced everyone in this lodge to attend the emergency
meeting. Harry Dalton went to the podium and announced, "The reason we had
to call all of you to this emergency meeting is that Mt. Hood is getting ready
to erupt. This is the same pattern as Dante's Peak. There were several tremors
and the sulfur got into water system. This is the warning sign for a major
eruption. Please be calm and don't panic. Just get in your cars and start
leaving now."
Several other geologists came in
and informed Harry and Dr. Amy about the condition at the crater. The bulge was
growing tremendously. Almost everyone from Mt. Hood evacuated. Some of them had
refused to leave the mountain. Harry was heading to Hood River near Columbia
River Gorge to warn people there of any possible flooding and Dr. Amy was
heading to Gresham, which is a suburb near Portland. Her husband Mike was
heading to Gresham to set up the shelter for the residents of Mt. Hood. After
Mike arrived in Gresham, they went ahead to set up the shelter, which was the
old grade school. Dr. Amy said, "It looks like this mountain is getting
ready to blow. This is expected to be as bad as Mt. St. Helens and Dante's
Peak."
Kelly asked, "Will there be
fireballs shooting here like it happened at Los Angeles?"
Mike replied, "No, we are a
good distance from there. That's why we evacuated the mountain. However, the
ashes could come down here if the wind blows in this direction. That's why we
brought the masks. It's more likely that the ashes will go to Bend, Oregon
according to the wind."
Rachel and her children came to
Hood River to help Harry with the possible evacuation for any flooding. Lauren
asked, "Is there any mines we could hide for eruptions?"
Harry replied, "No, we are
pretty far away from hot ashes and having any trees blow down here. It's
flooding we will have to worry about."
The Eruption
The next morning, Mt.
Hood had a major eruption. It was spewing steam and ash at least a mile into
the atmosphere. The volcanic ash was raining down in Bend, Oregon. Dr. Amy got
on the helicopter and headed to Bend. The National Guardsmen went to Bend to
get the town evacuated. The ashes were so thick they had to wear a mask to
breathe. The National Guard ordered residents at Bend to head down to Eugene,
Oregon. One of the guards said to Amy, "I saw you on television five years
ago when you warned about the volcano at Los Angeles. You must have known which
way the lava would flow."
Dr. Amy replied, "Yes, I studied
physics and that’s how I determined the lava flow. If it weren't for physics,
thousands of people in Los Angeles would have perished. Since Mt. Tabor at
Portland is a volcano that had been inactive for thousands of years, a lava
tube from that volcano might be connected to Mt. Hood. We should put the city
of Portland on alert."
That guard replied, "Do you
realize that the whole city would be in a panic if you are predicting that
eruption? We'd better get out of here before the ashes stalls out the engines.
We are going to open a shelter at Oak ridge which is few miles from
Eugene."
It looks like nighttime with
those thick ashes. Two helicopters crashed as result of ashes getting into the
engine. Several cars had stalled out due to ashes. The National Guard's trucks
had brought more masks for people to breathe. By the time that they got to Oak
ridge, they finally got out from ashes. The wind was blowing toward the east.
Dr. Amy said, "My God, it looks like the ashes might be closer to two
miles into atmosphere."
That guard replied, "It
looks like that at least 3000 feet of Mt. Hood may had been blown just like
what happened to Mt. St. Helens. This looks worse than Dante's Peak."
Dr. Amy went back to the shelter
at Gresham. Mike and Kelly were helping the residents from Mt. Hood at the
shelter. Mike said, "Before we got to Gresham, people at that shelter mentioned
a tremor just before the eruption. Just an hour before, the animals were acting
crazy just like something was going to happen."
Dr. Amy replied, "If the
animals act strangely in the city, this usually is a warning of an earthquake
or volcano eruption. If this warning happens at Portland, we'd better take the
warning seriously. I just have a feeling that there is a lava tube connected
from Mt. Hood to Mt. Tabor. If lava flowing in that tube, this could be very
serious."
Kelly asked, "Does this mean
Mt. Tabor is going to erupt?"
Dr. Amy replied, "One way to
know is that I'll use a temperature test just like I did at Los Angeles. If it
rises rapidly, then the warning will be issued."
Something came on the news about
a flood warning at Hood River. Dr. Amy said, "Harry Dalton should be over
there since he is predicting the flooding due to volcanic eruption."
The Flooding at
Hood River, Oregon
The helicopters were flying over the town of Hood River. They were announcing
the evacuation near the river for flooding. The National Guardsmen had ordered
the evacuation near the river. The shelter was far enough away and higher up
from the danger of flooding. Harry, Rachel, Lauren, and Graham were helping
with setting up the shelter. Several people came to the shelter that were
evacuated near the river. Harry warned the evacuees, "Do not cross any
bridge after the flooding. There is danger of bridges collapsing."
The river torrented rapidly with
lots of debris and was very muddy. All the bridges were washed out including
the main bridge on I84 at Hood River. The Bonneville Dam located near Cascade
Locks had opened the floodgates for safety. They had closed the dam for the
visitors due to possible flooding or dam collapsing. The mud and debris
continued down the Columbia River overflowing at Bonneville Dam. They had
closed the I84 from Cascade Locks and made a detour over Bridge of the Gods
onto the Washington side of the Columbia River. They continued until they got
to The Dalles Bridge to get to the town of The Dalles. The mudflow continued
for several hours during the eruption. There was major damage near the river.
Rachel said to the evacuees, "If any of you are going west to Portland,
you will have to go east to The Dalles and cross the bridge to the Washington
side and cross the bridge back to Cascade Locks. This will be a long detour."
One of the National Guardsman
came to shelter and said, "The area near the river will be closed until
further notice. All the bridges were washed out. The I84 will be closed except
for the local traffic. There is a detour to go onto the Washington side of the
Columbia River from The Dalles to Cascade Locks. The Bonneville Dam is closed
for visitors."
Harry said, "When we are
going home, we can expect a four-hour detour. Too bad we are not on the west
side. It is not only 100 miles, but this will be a slow winding two-lane road
on the Washington side. You can expect bumper-to-bumper traffic."
Rachel replied, "We'd better
get up at 5:00 in the morning. Maybe we can beat the traffic."
Harry replied, "I think we'd
better inspect the Bonneville Dam for any damage on the way back."
The next Morning, the Dalton
family left the Hood River by detouring though The Dalles and drove down the
Washington side. The traffic was slow. When they came to the Bridge of the
Gods, the traffic had stopped due to paying the bridge toll. Harry said, "They
should have closed the toll during that time to keep the traffic flow. This is
inexcusable."
When they got to the Bonneville
Dam, the guard informed them about the closure of the dam. After Harry showed
the tag for geologist, the guard let them in. Harry carefully inspected the dam
and saw few cracks on the dam. Harry said to the manager, "Don't close
those floodgates until the repairs are made. There is danger of
collapsing."
Later that day, they got home,
and Rachel continued to campaign to run for mayor of Portland.
The Warning
Several days later, Mt Hood had quieted down. The town of Hood River has
suffered major damage from flooding. Bonneville Dam had been going under major
repairs for cracks. There had been several tremors in the city of Portland.
Some unusual activity in the street sewers had been going on at Gresham. Dr.
Amy and Harry went there to investigate the activity. Dr. Amy and Harry went
down into the sewer tunnel under the street with the equipment. They had
discovered a burned body in the sewer tunnel. Dr. Amy said, "This is
exactly what happened in Los Angeles before the eruption. This body looks like
he was burned from a burst of steam. The temperature was rising. We better get
out of here."
Harry replied, "I just found
a big crack and I saw a river of lava flowing beneath this sewer tunnel. Let's
get the hell out of here."
As soon as they got out of the
sewer, another tremor rumbled. All of a sudden, several manholes cover blew off
with the steam and caused an instant burst of fire. Harry said, "It looks
like there is a lava tube running under those sewers and probably connected to
Mt. Tabor. We better inform the city and prepare for the evacuation. We better
evacuate the city east of the Willamette River."
Dr. Amy replied, "I don't
know how we are going to evacuate millions of people from the city. Let's go to
Mt Tabor and see if it is getting hotter."
Dr. Amy and Harry checked out Mt.
Tabor, which is a city park. There are reservoirs on the west side of Mt. Tabor
that supply drinking water for Portland. They decided to check the temperature
at the reservoir. Dr. Amy said, "I just found hot mud running into the
reservoir."
Harry replied, "I'm going
home and getting my wife to inform the people to evacuate."
When Harry got home, Rachel had
discovered the muddy water coming out of the faucet. Harry said, "We have
an emergency meeting immediately. There is a warning sign for Mt. Tabor to
erupt. We must evacuate the city on the east side of Willamette River."
Rachel replied, "We'll go
downtown and there are several old buildings we could use for shelter. There
should be several places in the state of Washington that could be used for
shelters. I do not know how we are going to get millions of people to evacuate.
I'm worried about panic."
The National Guardsmen came to
the emergency meeting to discuss the plan for evacuation. Rachel took all her
kids to the meeting. All of a sudden, the birds were acting strangely and
flying as if they were in a panic. They could hear dogs barking all over the
city.
Last Days
An earthquake had struck Portland. This was a major earthquake and several
buildings were collapsing. Several people panicked and ran out into the
streets. Several bridges over the Willamette River had collapsed. The
earthquake had read 8.2 on the Richter scale. The two bridges that stood were
St. John's Bridge and Sellwood Bridge. They closed those two bridges for safety
until they were inspected. Dr. Amy rode the helicopter to get to the east side
of the river. The A helicopter flew over Mt. Tabor, and they noticed the mud
and steam running out from the reservoir. They continued to go on the east side
of Portland and saw steam coming out of manhole covers. Dr. Amy said, "I'm
afraid Mt. Tabor is getting ready to erupt."
The helicopter pilot replied,
"Let's get back to downtown. I don't know how we are going to handle those
evacuations."
Another strong earthquake struck
again. Mt. Tabor had erupted. This was more of a lava eruption along with steam
and ash. The lava was flowing down several city streets. Many buildings burst
into flames from lava flow. It was raining ashes all over the city. Helicopter rescue was impossible because of falling ash. They called for the National Guard and fire
department to control the lava flow. Dr. Amy and Harry were both working
together along with National Guardsmen. Harry said, "Since the lava is
flowing on the west side of Mt. Tabor, we should get people to move to the east
side of the volcano at least three miles from the volcano. We should redirect
the lava flow to reduce the damage."
Dr. Amy replied, "They'll
have to dynamite those high-rise buildings to block the lava flow. That's what
we did at Los Angeles to save the hospital."
One of the hospitals located
northwest of the volcano were taking several injured and burned people. The Lava
was heading toward that hospital, so the fire department was putting up a
barricade to stop the lava flow. Several fire trucks were using hoses to cool
down the lava flow. The National Guardsmen dynamited several of the high-rise
buildings to barricade and redirected the lava flow from south side of the
hospital. They even created the gullies by blasting the streets so the lava
would flow in the storm drains. The lava then flowed down the I84 freeway to
Willamette River. Both Dr. Amy and Harry were volunteering to work at that
hospital. Harry said, "The ashes are blowing more in the southeasterly
direction. Maybe we could get helicopters going in the Northwest direction to get
downtown."
Dr. Amy replied, "I got the
word from one of the National Guard who informed me that people are driving
over the St. Johns Bridge. It may be safe to travel over that."
The next day, Dr. Amy and Harry
went to the north section of Portland to set up a shelter. Rachel and the
family and Mike and Kelly came there. Lauren and Graham met Kelly. They had
talked about their experiences. Kelly said, "I got burned when I was at
Los Angeles, this would make my second city in the row that volcano
erupted."
Lauren replied, "We were
trapped in the mine to escape the burning ash until the rescuers came. We used
to play in that mine before the volcano erupted."
Several days later, the west side
of Portland was buried with lava from Mt. Tabor to Willamette River. It had
blown out the west portion of Mt. Tabor. It had blown out approximately 5,000
feet of Mt. Hood. Rachel had brought this up to rename Mt. Tabor as Mt. Tabor
Volcanic Preserve. They decided not to rebuild anything over the lava beds.
Both Harry Dalton and his family and Mike Roark and his family moved over to
West Hills on west side of Portland where they had a good view of Portland.
THE END