Porky Bickar and The Mount Edgecumbe Eruption

The eruption of Mount Edgecumbe, located at the southern end of Kruzof Island, Alaska in April 1974, may not be up there with the likes of Krakatoa, which burst forth in 1883, or Mount Tambora, which blew its top in 1815, or even Mount St. Helens, which resulted in the US’s most deadly volcanic event, when it let rip in May 1980, but it nevertheless deserves its place in history, albeit for a very different reason to the more destructive events mentioned above.

Mount Edgecumbe lies about 10 miles east of the Queen Charlotte Fault that separates the North American and Pacific Plates, and at 3,201 feet, is the highest point in the Mount Edgecumbe volcanic field. The mountain had originally been called L’ux, by the indigenous Tlingit people, who considered it sacred. However, it was Captain James Cook who gave it its current name, when he came upon it on 2 May 1778, most likely after Mount Edgecumbe, a hill which overlooks Plymouth Harbour in the south west of England.

The first recorded ascent of Mount Edgecumbe was that made by Captain Urey Lisanski of the Imperial Russian Navy in July 1805, but by the 1930s a trail to the top of the mountain had been established. For those who enjoy an energetic hike, the trail is approximately 6.8 miles in length, with the ascent becoming steep before ending above the treeline in a barren landscape of volcanic ash and snow at about 2,000 feet. From there, sign-posts direct hikers onwards and upwards towards the rim of the caldera.


The Eruption of Mount Edgecumbe

Oliver “Porky” Bickar was born on 1 November 1923 in Chehalis, Washington in the United States, and fought in World War II, taking part in the D-Day invasion of Normandy, France. After the war he married Patricia (Patty) in 1950 and they had three children. In 1960 the family moved to Sitka, Alaska where Porky worked in the logging industry. In 1964 he set up his own business, called Porky’s Equipment Inc., which sold and serviced logging gear. He was well known in the area and gained a degree of notoriety for his annual performance at the All-Alaska Logging Championships, where he would fell a tree with such precision that it would hit a predetermined target on the ground. Porky was also an artist who worked in metal, producing cut-outs of the local fauna, which he displayed in public locations around the town.

All fine and dandy, you’re probably thinking, but what the heck has old Porky got to do with the eruption of Mount Edgecumbe in 1974. Well, a lot, as it happens. You see, there are a couple of things I neglected to mention. Firstly, Mount Edgecumbe is a dormant volcano that last erupted over four thousand years ago. Secondly, the eruption in 1974 took place on 1 April or April Fool’s Day as it is alternatively known. Yes, you’ve guessed it, Porky was also a prankster. Previous pranks included blocking a friend’s driveway with a felled tree, and putting plastic flamingos in trees to confuse tourists on wildlife boat trips. His finest achievement as a practitioner of mischievousness however, occurred on 1 April 1974, when for a short while he tricked the world into thinking the dormant Mount Edgecumbe had erupted once more.

So, how did he do it? Well, the wheeze first occurred to Porky in 1971, but he had to wait patiently for three years, before favourable weather conditions meant that the summit would be visible from a considerable distance on April Fool’s Day. Finally, on 1 April 1974 the weather was just right. He had, in the intervening time, amassed a collection of approximately 70 old tyres which he stored in an aircraft hangar. Waking that morning, he peered out of the window, and able to see Mount Edgecumbe clearly in the distance, announced to his wife “I have to go do it today”. “Just don’t make an ass of yourself”, she was reported as having replied.

Initially, Porky ran into a spot of bother. He needed to arrange for the tyres to be transported to the top of the mountain, but to his consternation, the first two helicopter pilots he contacted, refused to take on the task. Fortunately, it was third time lucky, and when he spoke to a pilot by the name of Earl Walker, he agreed to help out with the caper. Having secured the services of a helicopter and pilot, he piled the tyres into canvas slings, which were hooked onto the underside of the helicopter. With the addition of smoke bombs and several gallons of kerosene, they headed off to the crater. Having piled the combustible material into the caldera of the dormant volcano, Porky stomped the words “APRIL FOOL” in the snow nearby, before setting the assemblage alight and heading for home.

So successful was the prank that the Associated Press got hold of the story and it ran in newspapers around the world. When Mount St. Helens actually erupted in 1980, Porky received a communication from an attorney in Denver. Inside the envelope was a photograph of the erupting volcano with a note attached which read, “This time, you little bastard, you’ve gone too far”. Porky was rightly proud of his achievement, writing: “On April Fool’s Day, I hired a chopper and flew 70 old, kerosene soaked tyres on top of the dormant volcano, Mt. Edgecumbe, that looms over Sitka. I set the tyres on fire, and the billowing black smoke created one hell of a commotion in Sitka. I dare you to top that April Fools’ joke”.



Porky Bickar

Oliver “Porky” Bickar died on 11 August 2003 at the age of 79, and is buried in Sitka National Cemetery. Nice one Porky!

Sources:

http://hoaxes.org/af_database/permalink/the_eruption_of_mount_edgecumbe

http://hoaxes.org/weblog/comments/remebering_porky_bickar
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Edgecumbe_(Alaska)