Small quakes trigger Mt. Hood alert

Following series of small earthquakes, Oregon State officials have issued an alert for the area round Mt. Hood, Monitor correspondent Brad Knickerbocker reports. The 11,245- foot mountain, about 60 miles southeast of Mt. St. Helens, is part of the Cascade Range of potentially volcanic mountains.

About 90 small quakes have been detected in the area since July 9. At this point, however, scientists are drawing no conclusions about the possibility of Mt. Hood's erupting. The last confirmed eruption of Mt. Hood was in 1965.