Early eruption forecast for Mt. Hood, in Oregon

Oregon's Mt. Hood may erupt in the "very near future," says Dr. Dwight R. Crandell, who two years ago was one of two US Geological Survey scientists predicting and accurately describing Mr. St. Helen's volcanic activity. But in an 81-page assessment of the 11,245-foot peak, whose last known eruptions occurred during the mid-19th century, he said an eruption would likely spare the heavily populated Portland area and have little effect on the Columbia River.