Hebgen Lake Earthquake--A Survivor Story

[@rexterrier1]

My parents & brothers were camping there. I was 3 years old. They set up camp & then my brothers decided they wanted to camp somewhere else. So at their request they packed up everything & went to another place. It was a miracle that we had left when we did or we would have been buried. Friends & family thought that we had perished.

[@livenfree]

Wow that's a miracle!

[@GMAN123BOSS]

My great grandpa was at Campfire Lodge a few hours before it hit. A big bear ran through his cabin a few hours before the quake, and being the wilderness kid he grew up as, he knew something was wrong. He left to go to West Yellowstone and thankfully his life was saved. R.I.P Gpa, I miss you. Incredible story from this woman, by the way.

[@mollylittlewolf3035]

GMAN123BOSS wonderful story! it goes to show you animals certainly have a sense. rip to Gpa.

[@R2D2999]

Amazing woman! And, everyone else who stepped up but...Damn! Her explanations of the seismic and weather activity afterwards; the descriptions of those injuries. Man, those were actually chilling. Wow. Thanks to her and to you!👍🏾👍🏾

[@asc_missions3080]

I was 11 and lived 80 miles north. What a ride that was, with sidewalk-rolling aftershocks all through the following day.

[@scottmoore9132]

The news of the mudslide up in Washington ( March 2014 ) made me think of THIS story. I'm approaching 60, and as far as I can recall, I've only heard mention of this story once or twice in my life. I've been to Yellowstone 2-3 times that I can remember. Between this clip and another video I was watching earlier....today is the first time I've ever actually heard what happened. Thanks for posting this lady's account.

[@incog99skd11]

"There but for the grace of God go I". I was a little tyke, about 7 years old, and my parents had taken us into Yellowstone and on that very highway that got submerged by Earthquake Lake. We traveled the road only one week before the earthquake. One wonders about the serendipity of these things.

[@davidmayhew4818]

I'm amazed that she says there was a smell of sulfur all night. Thankyou Tootie! You're a mensch!

[@ThisEpicLife]

I was very near a tornado (about 100 feet away) and after it passed there was a very distinctive sulfur smell. I'm undecided whether it was something from the dirt, or maybe natural gas from broken pipes and sucked up into the tornado, but it was very definite.

[@adriennegormley9358]

Smell of sulfur is not surprising. This is the edge of the Yellowstone plateau, which is a supervolcano after all, PLUS...a very short distance downstream from the slide, in the bank of the Madison across from the highway, is a mud pot. This is simply another vent for the Yellowstone hot spot, even though it's not inside the park boundary. Heck, last time I was through there with my mom in '81, when we drove down the highway, windows open, savoring the air of home, we got a whiff. And mom said, "Mud pot is acting up." It's a local landmark. I may live in California now, but I grew up in this area; still have lots of kin there. MOrtician in Sheridan in 94 when he saw who all my mom's ancestors were (he knew my dad's), said, "Damn, you do have kin here." I told him, I jokingly tell my friends in california i'm related to half the county. He said, "Half the county, hell. YOu're related to 90% of it."

[@littlepetuniaone]

Thank you for this commentary it's important that we tell our stories and keep them alive

[@jbrobertson6052]

Thank you for telling your story

[@whisperingeagle]

I remember climbing under my bed and our cat buttons scratched me all up! My dad was col in the civil air patrol in helena and had to fly the c-47 down to hebgon to drop supplies. The next morning i found our foundation to our house had cracked . It was a hugh earthquake.

[@mollysmith6055]

The Washington mudslide news also brought this place's story to mind and it was fascinating getting to watch the footage. Thank you for preserving this part of our natural history.

[@williamhoward7121]

Another incredible account showing how wonderful and resourceful nurses are.

[@patrickmurphy9390]

Kathryn Miles' book "Quakeland" discusses this event.

[@jennygirl8849]

Live in Utah but had never heard of this tragedy. I only found this Lake and story while looking on google map regarding the two missing children Tylee & JJ. Sad story that so many people died such a scary death. You would never know any of this took place when you look at the beauty of the area. God Bless.

[@theoriginalkeepercreek]

What a horrific experience to go through. Thank you for sharing this historic event (that I never heard about till now), with me and others! Well done!

[@jwmcgeeproducts1023]

Thank you so much for that account of the earthquake

[@hebneh]

All those people were incredibly lucky that a capable nurse happened to be stranded there with all the rest of them.

[@mikew3625]

what a hero...

[@whoever6458]

Good work!

[@bftskir]

AWESOME! Great job!

[@sonnydayz2118]

What a tragedy.

[@leandromasolo6809]

Yeah well my grandpa drove through the park and survived

[@davidmayhew8083]

Sulfur? That's strange...

[@SevereWeatherCenter]

It is a volcano, and there are many sulphur fumaroles there.

[@williamhoward7121]

This area was under a seismic fault and just like Yellowstone, you smell sulfer regularly.

[@leandromasolo6809]

Good thing Yellowstone didn't blow it too we would have been fucked