Original subtitles

Is there or is there not a magma chamber underneath

Yellowstone National Park?

Oh yes.

And is this magma chamber of sufficient size

that if there was an eruption there it could potentially

be rated as a super-eruption?

Yes. Could, right, precisely. Could.

If there is an eruption then there is a good possibility

that it's going to be a moderate one.

This isn't enough, Rick.

If there's even the slightest chance of this happening,

I want to know what that means.

Then we would be looking at between 2-3000 cubic kilometres of rock,

gas and ash erupting across the United States

in a pattern that looks like this.

...expects an eruption any time soon

And possibly with devastating consequences for America and the world.

Jesus, Rick, just be honest with me.

I' m being honest with you.

Are you?

Yes.

If this is going to be a big eruption, you've got to come with us.

I don't need you to tell me what harmonic tremor means.

If I upgrade to a Red everyone's going to think that

we've got a super-eruption on our hands.

I am not going to be held responsible for some kind of mass panic.

Mr Lieberman, Mr Lieberman.

Yes hang on, hang on.

Yes.

Are you still denying the possibility of a super-eruption?

It's twice as likely as an asteroid strike according to some experts.

And half as unlikely as being struck by lightening, Miss Chin.

And how many of us lose sleep over that?

Sit down, the captain hasn't even turned

the fasten your seat belt sign off.

This is is Matt. It's started!

Hey Bob.

Nice dress, l' m sorry to haul you away.

I've got a problem. Who have I got from USGS?

No-one.

What?

I can't get through to their field office at the moment.

Hey Dave.

Michael Eldridge is on his way over.

Is this vacuum entry all we have on it?

Yes and it's only a projection.

What?

Yes.

OK Air Force, I need a plane up here as close

as it can get to take a look at this thing,

Iet's brief the White House on the little we know so far.

Dave, get VACC on the line,

I want to talk to Governor Marshall in Wyoming,

Joe Foster at Homeland and keep trying the Yellowstone Field Office.

And Bob, please get me something else to where.

Sure sure. Mary?

Jesus.

Get up in the chopper.

You need to take a look, Matt. You need to see what's going on.

Make contact with Dave, let him know what's happening.

Go!

Are you OK?

Sir there are no cellphones permitted on this aircraft.

Field office, I understand, I need to speak to...

Sir, I have to ask you to turn your phone off.

My name is Richard Lieberman,

I' m a scientist in charge of Yellowstone Volcano Observatory,

I' m receiving news of an emergency here that could

affect the flight path and safety of this aircraft.

My God has something happened?

I need to speak to the captain, please.

OK.

Dave, come in Dave, this is Matt.

Dammit.

Dave, this is Matt.

Matt, it's me. I' m heading out to Bozeman, where are you?

Just at the north east of Norris.

What do you see?

It's a single vent, moderate size, for the moment.

How far from Bozeman are you?

About an hour.

OK listen, Rick is on his way back from Washington.

We got shaken up pretty good back at the field office,

it's completely down, what can you do for us?

I' ll be up and running in 30 minutes.

It's been estimated that within the first hour

1 00 million tonnes of pumice, rock and ash were ejected.

Powered out by something with the explosive force

of 1 000 Hiroshima bombs.

Then the wind carried the top of the column eastwards.

Within an hour or so, pumice and ash began to fall

on towns 100s of miles away from Yellowstone.

Cody, Billings, ldaho Falls, Bozeman, where Dave was.

Can you give me a hand?

I've just got a few things in the back of the truck to unload.

Thanks a lot.

Rick, Rick it's Dave.

Dave. Listen, has this seismic activity,

has it triggered an eruption?

Yes, Matt said it's a single vent.

OK. Dave I need to determine the size of this vent,

I need to do that as soon as possible, alright?

All the equipment's down and

Matt can't get a clear view from the chopper.

Just put that down anywhere.

I' m booting up a link to, hang on...

please tell me you have a high speed data port.

Oh yes its right over there.

Oh thank god, thank you.

Sorry, Rick, yes l' ll have a satellite uplink in a few minutes.

Should be able to see the ash cloud and l' ll patch into VACC.

OK you listen, Dave,

I need you to talk to Michael Eldridge in Washington,

OK, get a hold of him,

just you know inform him about what's happening.

And tell him that we need him to declare a Red Level 3 emergency,

alright, have you got that? Red Level 3.

I got it.

Alright, and if this vent gets any bigger,

or anything else opens up, then I need to know about that, Dave.

Will do, boss.

We' re wrecked in there.

We need to get out of here fast, Nancy get in the chopper go.

Me? Why?

Because I say so, go.

No you' re hurt, Jock, we' ll take the truck, you go.

You go, you need a doctor!

For Christ's sake man do what I say!

Go Jock.

Get going!

You never know, right!

Oh my god, do you see it? Faster!

It's a surge, go on, up, we can't outrun it, go up.

Was the field office too close?

With hindsight, yes,

but you have to be close to get accurate information.

And no-one could have anticipated the size of that surge,

its direction or it's speed.

Pyroclastic surges can travel at up to 800km per hour

with temperatures of up to 500 degrees.

They incinerate everything in their path, absolutely everything.

It's a hell coming towards you.

They didn't stand a chance.

All of them?

They were about to leave the field office when I last spoke to them...

Are you sure?

Yes, l' m sure. I've just talked with them.

Oh Jesus. Alright where's Jock?

On his way to Bozeman in the chopper.

Are you at USGS?

No, no, l' m walking into FEMA now, just hang on.

Listen l' m going to pass you over to Wendy,

I've got Dave Price on the line,

he's in a backup field office in Bozeman.

OK let's patch him through,

everyone this is Michael Eldridge from USGS.

Dave, this is Wendy Reiss at FEMA.

Do you have any update on the size of the eruption?

Yes, Jock Galvin left the scene by chopper

a little while back and said it was a single vent.

But the GPS and SRl data show signs of swelling all over the park,

increasing earthquake swarms.

My guess is it's only a matter of time

before we see new vents opening up.

Thank you Dave, stay on the line and keep us up to date.

Will do.

Denver, bring all SR teams to standby.

Inform Governor Marshall this can be bigger than anticipated.

Are we recommending evac?

It's his call but we are advising against,

it's safer inside than on a highway.

Well as I was saying, our flight plan has us

about 348 nautical miles south of Yellowstone at our closest point.

So if ash from your volcano does head our way,

the Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre will divert us long

before we get anywhere near it.

OK, how often does VACC check the satellite?

About every half hour.

We can put in a call now for an update

if it would make you feel better.

Yes, I'd appreciate that, if you'd keep me informed, thank you.

Sure.

Wow wohh! Boze ldaho is reporting a city-wide blackout?

I' m getting reports of rolling blackouts west of Yellowstone.

Ash fallen power in relay stations.

OK tell our FEMA offices in Montana,

Nebraska, Utah, the Dakotas,

to shut down their power grids

and switch to back up generators as of now.

And make sure those generators protect against the ash.

I'd also advise you to shut down all air conditioning units.

The ash will get everywhere.

OK. All federal buildings need to seal up

and start recycling their clear air.

FEMA this is Air Force Trigger Two.

Go ahead Trigger Two.

I' m now monitoring the eruption column at flight level 5 0 0.

Indications are low of 2 9 0 the wind is westerly

but above that it appears around to 3 3 7 degrees north north west.

Hank, Hank.

Have you got those co-ordinates?

2 9 0 the wind is westerly...

Oh man, that's directly across major commercial air routes.

Hank I want all air space across the central USA cleared

and put east and west coasts on stand by.

Michael, where is your guy, I need him here?

Rick Lieberman?

Yes.

He's in there somewhere

He was flying back tonight.

Anyone need a blanket. There you go.

So?

It's a single vent.

Single vent?

Yes.

So, Mount St Helens, then.

Yes.

Like you said

Yeah, yeah.

What's that?

What?

That smell.

Sulphur.

Oh Jesus.

We're flying into the ash cloud.

We've lost both engines.

It's on back hold, I have control.

You have control?

Right, beginning.

Mayday, mayday we have lost both engines,

repeat lost both engines.

Start the drill.

Denver Centre, Denver Centre, this is??

Sir take your seat now.

Mayday.

Dave are you getting this?

Yes yes I got it.

Does the guy have a zoom, can you get him to zoom in?

Trigger two, can you zoom in?

Wait. Oh. You see that, Michael?

Another one?

Yes. Yes that's vent number two opened up now.

While it was just a single eruptive column there was

still a chance that things would be OK.

But the second eruption, clearly there was so much magma

and pressure in the chamber

that it couldn't vent through a single column.

Instead the whole

caldera began to unzip in a series of smaller eruptions.

Once that started, we had no idea how long it would go on for.

Days, weeks, months.

We just didn't know.

Wing anti ice. Engine anti ice. APU.

Ladies and gentleman, this is Captain Franks,

we' ll shortly be making a precautionary landing at Cheyenne.

Thank god, I thought we were done for.

The ash cloud has blasted the cockpit window.

We are landing blind.

Back of the seat in front of you, fasten your hands under your feet.

Brace. Brace. Brace. Brace. Brace. Brace...

We are getting reports of large numbers fleeing

into Canada along interstate 15 and 29,

we' re linking Nebraskas on stand by to evacuate.

Stand them down, I need to clear those roads.

And get me a transportation update on the coastguard.

The airforce is evacuating its planes at the bases of Mineot,

Grand Forks, Elthris, Nellis, Kurtland, Offen,

Peterson, Edwards.

Is there anywhere they are not evacuating?

East coast basically.

Oh thank you.

Wyoming's declared a state of emergency,

they have asked for a federal disaster to be called.

Did you get that Denver?

Guys, you guys, it looks like we have got another vent opened up.

Oh god, three vents open.

Michael, how bad is this going to get?

Hello?

Hey, it's me.

Rick, where are you?

What's that noise?

It's sirens. Listen, Yellowstone's erupted.

What?

I can't talk now,

I' m with Ken and we are making for the FEMA office in Denver.

Denver, why?

And when I get there, l' ll call you.

No no, wait a minute.

Listen, Fi, you know I feel... hello?

Rick.

Are you there?

Rick.

Shit.

Initial reports suggest that a team of scientists

from the US Geological Survey, who were monitoring

the site from a field office within the park itself,

have been killed.

The local towns of West Yellowstone and Bozeman

...are being evacuated amid scenes of panic and confusion.

What's going on?

Shhh!

Well meanwhile, the growing ash cloud is spreading south

and east from Yellowstone,

raining down its potentially lethal contents across a vast area.

The ash is bringing the roads and freeways to a total standstill.

Find military installations. Hang on.

OK. OK.

There is a military installation about four clicks this way.

They might have a com link to FEMA.

We' re not going to walk.

We can't stay here, Ken. Pop the trunk.

No Rick, Rick, for god's sake, Rick.

It's volcanic ash, we can't go out in it.

When Vesuvius erupted the people of Pompeii stayed in their houses.

How do we know that, Ken?

Because they were preserved in volcanic ash, right.

We'd already seen from previous eruptions,

Mount St Helens, Montserrat,

Pinatubo, we'd already seen the terrible damage

that even small amounts of volcanic ash can do.

If it gets in your eyes it can blind you.

When it's breathed in it will mix with the moisture

in your lungs to form a suffocating cement.

It's also unbelievably dense. Just 20 cm can collapse a roof.

Half that amount if the ash gets wet.

Only people living within a 1 00km radius

of Yellowstone had been evacuated. Everyone else

caught under the ash cloud was in serious danger.

Dave are you getting this?

Yes l' m seeing it. Two more vents makes five;

I'd say the caldera is definitely opening up.

What do you think, Michael?

I concur with that.

Dave are we losing you?

I believe that's here on the roof, hold on.

It's pumice coming down hard.

Dave you have got to get out of there now.

What? And go where?

What, you've got a secret highway no-one knows about?

What about the people in the motel?

Some have gone but most have stayed inside,

hoping to ride it out.

Man, l' m just hoping the room service guy' s still around.

This is it. This is it.

Hello is anyone...

Is anybody there?

Please state your business.

Yes. My name is Richard Lieberman,

is your communication equipment working?

Yes sir it is.

You need to contact Wendy Reiss at FEMA in Washington,

it's Richard Lieberman, YVO.

Just hold on a second.

Oh shit.

Yes she's here, don't hang up. Wendy.

Wendy Reiss. Let him in, give him anything he wants.

They have found Rick Lieberman.

I'm Sergeant Geoffrey Johnson,

hope you guys understand the precautions?

Thanks Johnson!

Yes thank you, thank you for letting us in.

There's water downstairs.

Water. Thank you.

After you guys.

Follow me.

What is this place?

It's an old Cold War bunker sometimes used

as a relay station for NORAD.

Are you based here?

No sir I just service the equipment.

I tour all these sites, spend two or three days in each one.

Have you got food and water for five days?

One man.

The scale of the eruption is still the subject

of conflicting and confusing reports.

While officials claim it is the small to moderate event predicted,

the ash cloud has spread well beyond the area that's been evacuated.

Prompting fears that the eruption is much bigger than anticipated.

Oh god. I can't believe we forgot about this.

Try that again.

Ok, go back to what you had before?

There we are.

What do you make of it?

Show me the satellite image.

Mapping, bring up satellite.

OK go closer.

Oh it's amazing.

OK can you give me the thermal image?

Hey Wylie what's he doing?

Gauging how big the eruption is.

Trying to figure how long it will last.

Well?

Looks to me as if the various vents are beginning

to define the rim of a new caldera.

So I suspect that eventually they will all merge

to unzip themselves into a single massive vent.

Rick, can you give me any idea of how long this eruption will last?

Well this looks about half as big again as the previous caldera,

so I think we are, you know,

you' re looking at something 60km by 90km.

I mean we are looking at an event on the scale

of the Huckleberry Ridge eruption.

The first at Yellowstone and the biggest.

And?

And if that ejected 2500 cubic kilometres of material then

we have to make some kind

of estimate for the rate of ejection and then you do the maths.

And you've got your duration.

Give me a figure, Rick.

Say that again.

A figure, give me a figure.

Well you want me to guestimate?

Yes.

We are looking at a duration of between five and nine days.

But it doesn't matter how long it lasts,

Wendy, make no mistake we are looking at a VEl-8.

So there's no question any more.

What happened?

We lost the link. Let's get that signal back.

VEl-8 Michael.

Super-eruption.

Worst case scenario?

No it isn't.

Jock Galvin he was at the field office when...

Worst case scenario isn't a super-eruption.

The worst case scenario is a super-eruption which goes on and on.

If a volcano ejects more than 1000 cubic kilometres of magma,

it's a VEl-8.

The magma chamber under Yellowstone has the

capacity of 25000 cubic kilometres.

Problem is, we don't know how much of that is eruptible magma.

But that, that is what will dictate whether this eruption

goes on for days or for weeks.

By day three the volcano showed no signs of slowing.

The ash cloud had covered three quarters of the United States.

Cities like Chicago, St Louis, Detroit, Minneapolis,

they were at a total standstill.

Roads, railways, airports were all closed.

The power supplies failed, the water was polluted.

Every day it moved eastwards by another 1 50km.

And all we could do was sit and watch.

So you guys are brothers in law?

He married my sister, I didn't approve.

She needed some sanity in her life.

Well she got that didn't she?

Married to a man now who works on top of an enormous volcano.

Where is she now?

Fiona? She's in London.

Well. At least she's OK.

She's not OK. She's not OK.

As long as this eruption continues

there's nobody on the planet that's going to be OK.

You can't afford to think like that, Ken.

Oh come on, toss a coin! Heads we live.

Tails we die. It's that random Rick!

Don't you try and be reasonable. Not now!

Ken.

Oh come on, we are running out of water,

we are running out of food, the air is slowly turning to poison.

Do you believe in God, sir?

God?

Yes.

You think, you believe this is all God's wrath, Johnson?

I believe in his mercy.

Oh, nice. Well you can go outside and you can tell

those 100s of 1000s of people who have just died

in this sudden cataclysmic eruption of god's mercy.

This is not helping, Ken.

I' m not trying to help, Rick.

You expect optimism at the end of the world, mmm?

Well if that's what it is, then you should probably

go upstairs and take a big gulp of air then.

Because otherwise what are we sitting down here for?

Are we delaying the inevitable, is that what we are doing?

In my book, that's exactly what we are doing.

Well in my book, I'd like to think that

I'd get to see Fiona and Will again.

You know and Johnson that he gets to see his family,

I think as long as we remain focussed

on that we' re going to be a lot better off.

Yes well, my book's more pessimistic.

Yes well your books always are.

We have no clear idea of how long it might last

or what devastation it might wreak...

Listen to the advice of your local emergency services.

Follow it. May God be with you all.

Hundreds of thousands of US citizens are homeless

as they've fled from the ash cloud that now covers

three quarters of the country.

Thousands of others have been trapped

in their homes and the Federal Emergency Management

Agency admits it could be weeks before they can get aid to them.

Morning sir.

Morning all.

One hour ago Air Force One took off from Andrews en route

to a military bunker in Florida.

That information does not leave this room.

We can't run a country under several feet of volcanic ash,

but some sections of the media will still say she's running away.

Now, can we get to business.

Wendy, how many people in the fall out zones?

About 25million.

Casualty estimate so far?

In the immediate zone,

90 percent excluding those that got out early.

In zone two we estimate 1 0 percent mortality,

that's approximately 35,000 people.

Zone three, 5 percent mortality, that's 1 22,000 people.

Zone four, 3 percent mortality, 85,000 people.

Zone five estimate one percent mortality, 220,000 people.

Total estimated deaths for the first week,

462,000 and that's assuming zone one is clear.

These are all from the ash?

Mainly. Either directly from ash inhalation

or indirectly from roof and building collapse

or power failures, especially in the hospital.

So ash related accidents.

Sir, standard advice to people was that they

store enough food and water for only three days.

Today is day three.

Then, what are we going to do?

Oh excuse me. Wendy Reiss.

Look even when it ends, we won't be able to fly

for weeks with the ash still blowing around.

So what are we actually talking about?

You find a way, you don't just write off 25million people.

Good put him through. We've got Rick Lieberman here.

Rick can you hear me?

Yes, hang on, yes we got you.

Rick we have four more vents open since yesterday.

Alright has Dave been able to model these?

We can't raise Dave.

Say that again.

I' m sorry Rick, we can't raise Dave.

Secretary Foster here, Rick.

We need to know how long this eruption is going to last,

so we can plan how to rescue 25million people.

With all due respect Mr Foster

I think you've got to change your game plan.

I mean what you have told people is to stay put and to sit this out.

And to wait for your help.

I believe there is simply no realistic way for you to honour that sir.

And I think that if you do people are going to die waiting for you.

You need to retract your advice.

You need to retract your advice.

You need to tell them to come to you.

Mr Lieberman, FEMA will draw on every resource possible

to rescue these people, that's our federal obligation.

Sir this is not about protocol,

Mr Foster, this is about survival and nothing more.

When this ash fall stops and the air starts to clear,

the people who are trapped like we are,

are going to start walking.

They are going to start walking rather

than stay here and wait to die.

And they are certainly not going to make it,

sir, without your help.

You need to help us. You need to tell us where to walk.

We need to have supplies dropped for us along the way.

I mean if we are going to walk for life,

then it's up to you guys... to help us...

Damn it.

He wants people to walk through the ash?

Is he crazy?

I just keep thinking, how could I have done something different?

You know, should I have done something different?

You know just been more decisive or stronger if

I could have made the call earlier,

you know, maybe that would have changed things

Maybe that would have saved some lives.

I guess that's up to other people to judge.

And my family, it's them who will be left with the fallout...

Now these, these men that l' m with,

they think that if we stay put that we are going to be rescued.

But I honest to God believe that if we just wait,

if we just watch and wait,

I honest to god think that we are as good as dead.

By day five over 2000 cubic kilometres

of ash and pumice had been dumped across the United States.

2500 times more than the fallout from Mount St Helens,

but that was only about 1 0 percent of

what was in the magma chamber.

How much more would come out depended on how much

more eruptible magma was down there.

The country was already on its knees.

Thousands of people were dead, millions of others homeless.

If it didn't stop soon,

well, let's just say we were running out of options.

We have just received reports that

Mexican authorities closed the border four hours ago.

According to aid workers in the area, 3million people

have now gathered at the Mexican border, many of them...

...without shelter, food or money. Maggie Chin, KCVZ News.

They have closed the border?

To US citizens yes.

That's totally unacceptable; they are condemning people to death.

The Mexicans say they can't cope with the numbers.

Well we are going to have to kick some ass.

Oh I think the President might feel that right now

is a bad time to invade Mexico, Bob.

Can we move on?

Yes sir.

Alright our best case scenario is if the eruption stops in two days.

If that's the case, access to zones one and two won't

be possible until at least three to four weeks after that.

So it's unlikely we' ll find any survivors.

We can start supply drops into zones three through five

about two weeks after the eruption ends,

if the weather is with us.

But it's going to have to be piecemeal,

depending on whether the satellite can find

clean skies for the aircraft.

That's too long.

What about Rick's walk to life?

We can't advise people to walk through the ash.

It's just too dangerous.

So are we asking people just to sit there and starve to death?

There are 100s of 1000s, maybe millions of

people stumbling around out there, looking for help.

Sir.

Alright. We' ll go with walk to life.

I need to hear a plan out of this room as to how to do that, fast.

Right.

Well?

It's still raining.

Ash?

Save the battery, you' re going to need it outside.

Johnson.

Yeah.

Won't the Airforce be looking for you?

For me?

Yes, you know, leave no man behind and all that.

That's the Rangers.

So the Airforce does leave men behind?

I guess.

Should have joined the rangers.

Cheyenne's our best bet. We should head there.

FEMA, FEMA knows we are here. They will send somebody.

Kenny, FEMA' s got 25million people to save.

By the time they find us we' ll have starved to death.

What if we eat Johnson?

Ha ha, try it man.

Definitely a book in this when we get out, ha ha.

I don't know, one doesn't like to say I told you so.

We assumed that when all events merged together to form a new caldera,

then the pressure would drop and the eruption would stop,

that was our thinking.

Then on day seven, our seismographs began to pick up massive quakes

and we realised that the ground within the new caldera rim was

beginning to collapse, collapse into the empty space

Ieft by the ejected magma.

That's all the major drop points.

The Pentagon has 45,000 pallets,

800 planes and 560 choppers ready to go as soon as it is safe to fly.

Information leaflets?

With the ash jumpers and in all the pallets.

You need to see this.

Does this mean?

This means that the pressure holding the eruption

column in the air is beginning to drop.

It's a good thing, it's a good thing.

And now to the news that

America has been waiting for...

...the end of the super-volcanic eruption

at Yellowstone National Park.

At 9.17am local time, the eruption column began to collapse

Huge pyroclastic surges which radiated

out over 100 miles from the base of the column.

Overwhelming the

US airforce drone that's been monitoring the eruption.

Across America the overwhelming task of trying to bring aid

to the estimated 29million people trapped by the ash fall begins.

Authorities now admit it will take weeks if not months

to reach those trapped closest to the volcano.

We are going to head back towards the interstate and then turn north.

Any abandoned vehicles we come across along the

way I think we should stop and check them

for water in the washer bottle, food, anything we can use OK.

How far?

Outskirts of Cheyenne are approximately 25km.

You know I've got to say, Richard, this has been a crappy book so far.

Flashlight!

Hey, come on.

Alright. Alright OK. Alright.

The global effects were not fully felt until a month or

so after the eruption had stopped.

Billions of tones of sulphur dioxide ejected

by the volcano were wrapped their way around the northern hemisphere,

cutting down the sunlight.

Within weeks temperatures started to plummet.

As much as 20 degrees in some places.

Then the aerosols jumped to the equator

...and started to cool the southern hemisphere.

The monsoon failed, adding drought to the bitter cold.

Climatologists say we' ll start getting better in a few years.

But let's just say I don't think l' ll live to see another tan!

The clear up, the scale of what we still have to do,

all this time on.

80 percent of the USA covered by ash.

20 percent rendered unusable or uninhabitable,

cities and towns permanently abandoned.

Billings, Cheyenne, Denver, Salt Lake City.

I don't know how we kept going to be honest.

I mean, just the animals, the livestock.

Millions dead, rotted where they fell. And the people...

If it hadn't been for walk to life, 7.3million lives saved.

That was an achievement. And it was Rick's achievement.

Not knowing was the hardest part.

He called from Cheyenne from the airport with Ken.

And then I didn't hear anything until Michael Eldridge

called from FEMA to say they were in this bunker place.

But safe.

But then, when there was no news,

I gave up all hope of ever seeing them again.

Are you OK?

Sir.

I believe this is yours.

Why did I want to come back? It's hard to say.

To face the reality of what nearly happened I suppose.

How close we came to never leaving this place at all.

We were picked up in Cheyenne and

when the ash finally stopped falling we were transported to Denver.

Where we waited with 1 000s of others for our turn to be rescued.

It would be three months until the transatlantic routes

opened up again and I made it back to my family in England.

But I soon realised couldn't stay there,

not until I had seen for myself what had happened to Yellowstone,

the place I'd spent my whole life trying to understand.

Things will get better, they will eventually,

nature will recover, the world will recover.

This after all is not only how life ends,

it's also how life begins.

And one day, someday, Yellowstone will erupt again.

But not on my watch.