Hi all. I know that there are quite a few people from the PNW that frequent this board even if they don't post. This is a friendly reminder for those of you that live in the river valleys draining Rainier that you need to know what to do and where to go in the event of a large lahar. One of the largest lahars in the history of Mount Rainier, the Osceola mudflow, reached the Puget Sound and extended the shoreline by a number of miles. There have been dozens of mudflows from the mountain that have buried currently populated areas under 25-100 feet of mud and debris. If you live in one of those areas threatened by such activity, you might want to ask yourself if you know what to do. If you don't know the answer right off the top of your head, it would be wise to have it filed away in the back of your mind so that you don't panic and endanger yourself and your loved ones during a critical moment. The same way that you know what to do during an earthquake (hopefully) and act instinctively when one strikes, you should be able to do the same thing during a lahar spilling from Rainier. People living in towns like Orting, Sumner, Puyallup, Tacoma, and even areas just south of Seattle should be ready.

Perhaps when you read this you will think that because you do not live in one of those areas that you don't need to know what to do. I do not live in a home built on the site of a previous mudflow. I do travel around the valleys and to the volcanos here in the PNW. Do you ever drive to Sea-Tac to take a trip? It's information that you need. Evacuation routes are different for different areas and it's a good idea to check with your local community to see which route would be best for you although it's good to know the evacuation routes for the areas that you spend time in as well.

Some of you might remember all the news coverage a few years ago when Mount Rainier was named a Decade Volcano. Do you remember hearing that "When Mount Rainier blows - and it will - 100,000 people will have less than an hour to get out of the way."? Traffic around the Puget Sound is nasty to put it nicely. When people are simply trying to drive to and from work in their routines it's a clogged mess. Imagine adding panic and confusion to that clogged mess.

We know that historically Mount Rainier produces significant activity every 500-1000 years. The last SIGNIFICANT activity was over 500 years ago. This doesn't necessarily mean that we are now overdue, but it does mean that we are now in a window of potential hazard. The inside of the mountain is "rotting" and has been for a long time now. The mountain is slowly being turned into clay from the inside out and a large slab of it could collapse under it's own weight.

Take a little bit of time to learn about evacuation routes and store the information somewhere in the back of your mind in case you should need it some day. It could prove to be time well spent.

• Mount Rainier history and hazards