Hi Randall. Here is the reply from William Steele. I think this should show why most people in the USGS are reluctant to say anything to people about what might occur. There will always be someone who distorts what was said. Take Care…Don in creepy town

Greetings Don,
There is no alert for the Sisters volcanic area. There was some very bad
reporting concerning a very small Ml .8 earthquake (< mag.1) that occured near
S. Sister.
02/12/17 14:25:58 44.04N 121.85W 10.3 0.8 AD
For a good overview see our Three Sisters page at:
http://www.ess.washington.edu/SEIS/PNSN/SISTERS/welcome.html
Check out the recent earthquakes area and you will find we have only about 3
small events a year in this area. Nothing to be concerned about. Willie Scott of
the Cascade Volcano Observatory gave an interview to a Bend newspaper reporter
who hiped up the story implying that this tiny event might be a precursor to an
eruption. No worries.
Bill
********************************************************************
William P. Steele Phone: 206-685-5880
Director of Information Services
Pacific Northwest Seismograph Network (PNSN)
UW Earth and Space Sciences
Box 351310
Seattle, WA 98195-1310

http://www.ess.washington.edu/SEIS/
bill@ess.washington.edu

Here is more on the source of the mis-information.
Bill

********************************************************************
William P. Steele Phone: 206-685-5880
Director of Information Services
Pacific Northwest Seismograph Network (PNSN)
UW Earth and Space Sciences
Box 351310
Seattle, WA 98195-1310

http://www.ess.washington.edu/SEIS/
bill@ess.washington.edu
********************************************************************

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 18 Dec 2002 11:57:08 -0800 (PST)
From: Steve Malone
To: seisops@ess.washington.edu
Cc: Willie Scott CVO
Subject: sister AP story (fwd)

Seisops people:

Poor Willie is feeling the hassle of irresponsible reporters. I thought the
rest of you/us would like to see what tiny weenie things can do in the eastern
Oregon press. What would they say if there were (heaven forbid) 2 earthquakes
in a year. The fact that about anywhere in the world will have this level of
seismic activity seems to be lost on reporters with no news to report.

Steve Malone E-mail: steve@ess.washington.edu
Department Earth & Space Sciences Phone: (206) 685-3811
University of Washington FAX: (206)543-0489
Box 351310 Office: ATG-226
Seattle, WA 98195 http://www.ess.washington.edu

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 18 Dec 2002 11:33:34 -0800
From: William E Scott
To: Cynthia A Gardner , Daniel Dzurisin ,
Julie M Donnelly-Nolan ,
William C Evans , steve@ess.washington.edu
Subject: sister AP story

Heads up. This is not the story that I expected to be written by a Bend
Bulletin reporter with whom I spoke yesterday! It went out on the AP and
several Portland TV stations have called. Unbelievable. Hopefully the
interest won't go beyond the two TV stations with whom I will speak and
hopefully counter the incredibly irresponsible tone (or am I too sensitive)
of the article. I did not say that this could be the start..........
Willie

====================================
William E. Scott, Scientist in Charge
David A. Johnston Cascades Volcano Observatory
U.S. Geological Survey
1300 SE Cardinal Court, Suite 100
Vancouver, WA 98683

(360) 993-8942 (voice); (360) 993-8980 (fax)
http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov
http://volcanoes.usgs.gov
====================================
----- Forwarded by William E Scott/GD/USGS/DOI on 12/18/2002 11:28 AM -----

"Calm, Cheryl"
To: "'wescott@usgs.gov'"
cc:
12/18/2002 11:22 Subject: sister AP story
AM

BC-OR--SouthSister-Earth 12-18 0261
BC-OR--South Sister-Earthquake,256

Second minor quake could precede eruption

bengfwam
BEND, Ore. (AP) -- Seismic recorders detected a tiny earthquake
this week near the South Sister, an indication that a bulge on the
volcano's west flank could be closer to eruption.
The quake barely registered at magnitude 0.8 -- but it could be
part of a series of low-powered quakes that precede an eruption,
said Willie Scott, a volcanologist at the U.S. Geological Survey
Cascades Volcano Observatory in Vancouver, Wash.
"Could this be the first of many quakes?" Scott said. "Who
knows? In places like this that were getting ready to approach
eruption, we could be measuring hundreds or thousands of small
earthquakes."
Scott said a seismic monitoring station near a peak called The
Husband picked up the tremor at about 6:25 a.m. Tuesday.
Scientists pay close attention to the South Sister's 10-mile
bulge, which was first detected in 1996 and has since grown an inch
a year. Officials believe the bulge formed because a chamber of
magma deep beneath the earth's surface is growing.
"The thought is that the crust is being bent and bent, and
sooner or later, it will start fracturing. Sooner or later, we will
see swarms of small earthquakes," Scott said.
Other volcanoes in the Cascade Range, such as Mount St. Helens,
Mount Rainier and Mount Hood, all experience more earthquakes -- but
they don't have a bulge, Scott said.
South Sister, the youngest of the Three Sisters, erupted twice
about 2,000 years ago.

(Copyright 2002 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
APTV 12-18-02 1044PST