Shortly afterward, United States Geological Survey volcanologist David Jackson (David Huffman) arrives to investigate the activity. Upon arriving in the small town of Cougar, Washington, he quickly befriends Linda Steele (Cassie Yates), a single mother who works as a waitress at a restaurant named Whittaker's Inn. While at Whittaker's Inn, he stirs up concern with its owner, Clyde Whittaker (Albert Salmi), and a group of farmers and loggers. Meanwhile, the 83-year-old owner of the Mount St. Helens Lodge, Harry R. Truman (Art Carney) has a defiant attitude toward the idea of leaving his home on the slopes of the volcano.