She's Gonna Blow!

The volcano, I mean.

Mt. Redoubt is located 100 miles southwest of Anchorage and is about 10,197 feet tall. This will be her second eruption in 20 years, and it is expected to be quite a show. Unlike volcanoes in Hawaii, which tend to ooze out slow-rolling lava, volcanoes in Alaska usually erupt explosively, shooting ash nearly eight miles high.

According to the Alaska Volcano Observatory "The last time Redoubt erupted - over a five-month period that lasted from December 1989 through April 1990 - the ash plume disrupted international air traffic and coated Anchorage in a thin layer of volcanic ash. It also sent pyroclastic flows of hot gas and rock rushing down the Drift River drainage, turning ice and snow into a fast moving river of mud which partially flooded the Drift River Oil Terminal on the western shore of Cook Inlet"

http://www.avo.alaska.edu/

Since volcanic ash consists of tiny jagged pieces of rock and glass, it is being advised that people should stay indoors as much as possible to avoid breathing it in. It also wreaks havoc on your car, so driving should be restricted to emergency use only. Animals need to be brought inside if at all possible, as well.

I know some people are eagerly looking forward to the eruption - namely my friend Anne's boyfriend Sam, whom you met in a previous blog posting - but I am not. I have lived through several volcano eruptions in my time, and know what it's like: not fun.

For one thing, my cat Alien has asthma pretty bad. He had to go to the vet three times during the last eruption (that was Mt. St. Augustine, I believe) because he had such difficulty breathing. A 17-year old cat (that's 102 in human years) does not need to be shot full of steroids unless its absolutely necessary!

I will admit that it's an awe-inspiring sight to see, though.

I remember one eruption from a long time ago: the huge black cloud of ash billowing miles high and traveling towards the city at break-neck speeds. Within mere seconds it hit us, turning day to night in a flash. Sounds inside the ash cloud has a way of bouncing around, creating echoes and eerie unidentifiable moans and screeches. It was days later before the sky finally cleared and people started to emerge from their homes to asses the damage. Thankfully all we had to deal with was the inch-thick layer of ash that coated everything.

Mt. Redoubt is just rumbling at the moment. Geologists are issuing warnings and are keeping watch on it, but for now we can still naively hope that it will pass.

Keep your fingers and toes crossed for us, please!