I have no doubt the title (and first image) were selected to drive engagement, I simply have serious doubts that it was intended to drive engagement from that angle. To add some context, the eruption of Mount St. Helens was viewed as a fairly significant ecological disaster in the 1980's (and, for once, one that wasn't caused by humans). There were a lot of photos of the devastation, and people were wondering how long it would take to recover. In all probability, the title was written from that perspective. Which is engaging, at least to those who lived near the time of the event or who are interested in how ecosystems recover.

As for gophers causing it to erupt, that type of connotation implies a very different type of publication.