Man tricked entire town with April Fools joke by starting a fake volcano eruption

When it comes to April Fools, you could go small, like swapping the sugar for the salt, or you could go very, very large.

Oliver 'Porky' Bickar, from Alaska, chose the latter as he sought to pull off one of the biggest April Fools pranks possible, fooling the entire town with the help of an actual volcano.

Allow me to set the scene. It was 1 April, 1974, and residents of Sitka, Alaska, awoke to a plume of smoke rising in the distance.

Not necessarily too worrying a sight in itself, but one made more concerning for the locals as it was coming from the direction of Mount Edgecumbe, a seemingly dormant volcano at the southern end of Kruzof Island, Alaska. 

Douglas Peebles Photography / Alamy Stock Photo

The sight sparked fear among locals who, understandably, worried their entire lives could soon be enveloped in some hot lava and ash, Pompeii-style.

Residents called the police and the Coast Guard commander got in touch with the Admiral in Juneau, who ordered that a helicopter be sent out to the area to investigate.

Once there, the Coast Guard pilot did find a plume of smoke, but not one actually linked to the volcano. Instead, he spotted a pile of huge, old tyres which had been set alight near the rock formation. But why would one choose the setting of a volcano for their fire?

Some giant letters spray-painted in the snow nearby offered an explanation: "APRIL FOOLS."

Bickar had apparently waited three years to pull off the prank, slowly collecting dozens of tyres before calling a helicopter transportation service to help him and some of his recruits to transport the tyres.

The then-50-year-old had tried to give authorities a heads-up by offering notice to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the local police, and even received support as he made his way back from the volcano from one controller at an FAA tower, who reportedly told him: "I'll bring you in as low and inconspicuously as possible...and, by the way, the son of a gun looks fantastic!"

Unfortunately, Bickar had forgotten to inform the Coast Guard about his plans, which prompted the investigation.

Thankfully however, the relief of not being forced to play a real-life game of 'the floor is lava' was enough to spark joy among the victims of the prank, and there was a widespread positive reaction.

Decades on, it's safe to say that April Fools will be hard to top.

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