Dante's Peak Page #2

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Those trees over there.

Any idea when they died?

No. Maybe from

the winter storms.

Why? You think

we've got a problem?

No. I don't think so.

I do about 25 to 30

of these a year.

Ninety-eight percent of the

time they're just false alarms.

And the other

two percent?

You wouldn't have to worry

about moving up on that

"best places to live" list.

Come on, girl.

You guys be careful.

Watch out for poison oak when

you put your swimsuits on.

They'll be fine.

Hey, wait up!

A man who stares at a rock

must have a lot on his mind.

Or nothing.

These old rocks here will give us some

idea of when this area was last active.

When was that?

About 7,000 years ago.

Give us a smile.

Beautiful.

Take it easy now, okay?

Don't touch it.

Roughy, no. Stop.

What?

What is it?

We found two

dead squirrels, Mom.

That's what this fuss

was all about?

Don't touch them.

It must be some sort of

squirrel epidemic.

They're dropping like that

all over the mountain.

Come on, let's go.

It stinks. I don't know if

I want to go in.

It smells like your room.

You go in there.

Hey, Grandma. Somebody

left their clothes here.

Sometimes couples sneak

up here for a hot dip

and some hot nookie.

Ruth, for God's sake.

Lauren, move.

Lauren, get out of the way.

Watch me, Mom.

Graham, no, no! No!

No. Stop.

Don't look, pal.

Paul, we should

monitor the entire area.

Get the whole

shooting match in here.

I don't know.

The acidity in the lake

is high enough to bother me.

There's enough carbon dioxide

coming out of the soil

to start killing

trees and wildlife...

Paul...

You sent me up here to

check. I'm doing that.

I think attention

should be paid.

All right.

I'll call you.

You guys okay?

Yeah.

Yeah.

'Bye, Mom.

I love you.

I love you, Mom.

I don't think

I'll be too late, Ruth.

'Bye.

'Bye.

You okay?

Yeah.

Any idea who they were?

No, never seen them before.

Backpackers, maybe.

What's going on here, Harry?

I don't know.

How big a problem

do you think we have?

It's too early to tell.

But I think you should call

a city council meeting.

Ready to roll?

Yeah.

I thought this was supposed

to be an extinct volcano.

Not extinct,

just dormant,

as in sleeping.

And your volcano

might just be waking up.

Mr. Dalton, you're talking about

the evacuation of 7,400 people.

You don't think

that's a little extreme?

I'm just saying to consider alerting the

town to the possibility of an evacuation.

What Mr. Dalton here

doesn't realize

is that if Elliot Blair gets the

idea that there's a problem here,

he'll take his $18 million, his 800 jobs,

and he's going to evacuate.

Les, two people

are dead and we...

This is the first

opportunity in 40 years...

Look, it's been

a very long day.

Let's try to treat

each other nicely.

Norman, why don't you pull out the

town's emergency evacuation plans?

We should at least

have a look at them.

If I can find them.

Look at this

nice little town

nestled all snug and cozy

right against the mountain.

Yeah, just like Pompeii.

Come on, let's unpack her.

The conference room should be

big enough to set up shop in.

Great, thanks.

Do you know where

I can find Harry Dalton?

He's over at the

city council chambers.

He and the mayor

called a meeting.

So, when is this mountain

likely to blow up?

I wish that predicting volcanic

eruptions were an exact science.

Unfortunately, we...

Perfect.

So, we put the town on notice,

and then nothing happens.

People, we're not the

only town in this state.

All right, so are we ready

to put it to vote?

I don't know if we've enough

information.

Paul.

Everybody, this is my boss,

Dr. Paul Dreyfus. Mayor Wando.

Hi. Rachel.

It's a pleasure indeed.

What's going on here?

I've recommended to

the council members

that they put this town

on alert.

They were just

about to vote on it.

Harry, can I have

a word with you outside?

Sure.

Excuse us.

Who the hell is this?

I sent you up here

to have a look around,

not to scare

the city council.

I know,

but two people are dead.

Recommending an alert was the

only responsible thing to do.

There are dozens of reasons that

would account for what happened.

Anything from a mild earthquake

to a slight seismic shift

and not one

of those reasons

means that the mountain will

blow up next week or next month

or the next 100 years.

They just think

they can walk in here...

Ladies and gentlemen

Dr. Dalton was only doing what he

thought was in the town's best interests.

However, I have learned

through bitter experience that

these decisions are

not to be made lightly.

Now, back in 1980,

I would've bet $1 million

that Mammoth Mountain

was about to go up.

We, at the U.S.G.S., began to talk about the

possibility of putting that town on alert.

Thank God the mountain

didn't go up,

but the damage

had already been done.

You see, the word leaked out that

the U.S.G.S. Had expressed concern

and so the tourists panicked

and stayed away

the real estate

values plummeted,

and the town

nearly went bankrupt.

Consequently,

I'm now a lot more cautious

when it comes to even talking

about putting a town on alert.

Now, folks,

understand something.

We'll be camped here

for as long as it takes

with seismometers

and tiltmeters

that will measure and monitor

every hiccup the mountain makes.

We'll be bouncing laser beams off

it to track any changes in size.

We'll be analyzing

gas emissions.

We've even got a robot to go up

there and take its temperature.

Now, believe me, I'm not trying

to make light of your concerns

but I want you

to understand that

if the time comes

to call for an alert...

If the time comes

it will be based

upon scientific evidence

and not upon

anyone's opinion.

For God's sake, this thing should've

been handled much more discreetly.

This meeting never

should've been called.

I just hope Mr. Blair

didn't get wind of this.

You're making

a big mistake, Paul.

This is an unstable system,

and this town

should be on alert.

You need a vacation.

I'll see you in two weeks.

Well, we got some serious

damage control to do.

If they get scared off,

Rachel,

you're the one

who's responsible.

Any questions? I'll be

happy to answer them.

How about

a nice adult beverage?

Excellent.

Good.

Sounds good to me.

Give me just

a minute here.

Thought you'd be off on

your fishing vacation by now.

I decided to

stick around.

I can see that.

The question is, "Why?"

Because this town's

in trouble.

I'm the best man

you've got.

Whiskey.

You are the best man

I've got.

Until you can understand that there

are delicate politics involved,

not to mention economics

you're only going to do these

people more harm than good.

I understand.

There you are.

Same again.

Tomorrow I'll hire a helicopter,

fly around the mountain,

take some COSPEC readings, see

how much sulfur dioxide is there.

Okay.

From now on,

everything comes from me.

Any more town meetings

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