Mt. St. Helens trails to reopen

People can soon return to many trails and viewpoints at Mt. St. Helens in Washington as snow and the risk of volcanic eruption subside.

U.S. Forest Service officials say as long as the volcano continues to slowly build a lava dome inside the crater, the reopened areas should be safe, though they are keeping a close watch on Mt. St. Helens. Volcanic activity last fall closed much of the mountain.

The Johnston Ridge Observatory is scheduled to reopen May 6. A number of ridge-top trails and viewpoints in the Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument will reopen as snowpack recedes. But all areas above the Loowit Trail, which circles the volcano near the timberline, will remain closed. The northern part of the Loowit Trail will also stay closed due to risk of mudflows.

A major eruption at Mt. St. Helens on May 18, 1980, blew 1,300 feet off what was then a 9,677-foot peak, killing 57 people.

--John C. Ryan