Cars stuck at Mount St. Helens observatory recovered 2 months after landslide

SKAMANIA COUNTY, Wash. — Drivers were reunited with their cars as we got a new look inside an area of Mount St. Helens where a landslide washed out State Route 504 more than two months ago.

Early Friday morning, six drivers met with Washington State Department of Transportation crews at the Hummocks Trail parking lot to get their cars from the Johnston Ridge Observatory, where they were parked.

It was the first time they’d been able to return to the location since the landslide caused catastrophic damage to the highway leading up to the observatory. The road remains closed to the public.

Incredibly, two months later, everyone’s cars appeared to be in perfect condition.

“I thought they were going to be covered with dust or who knows what, you know, windows broken out or whatever, but no. A couple of birds left me a little present on the hood and everything’s fine. All the cars started on the first try,” said Roger Freeborn.

“You never know, out here in the wilderness. All-around best-case scenario,” said Robert Cornejo Garcia.

Currently, the road is only open to the Washington Department of Transportation and the U.S. Forest Service.

Crews plan to reopen the highway to the public next spring.

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