Avalanche cascades down mountainside, billows onto Utah road in ‘incredible video’
A controlled avalanche started by Utah state crews rolled down a tree-covered mountainside Thursday morning — and the spectacle was captured on video from start to finish.
Utah Transportation Department spokesman John Gleason shared the 42-second clip on Twitter.
“Incredible video showing an avalanche triggered by our UDOT crews this morning in Little Cottonwood Canyon,” Gleason wrote to go with the footage. “The control work they do is critical to the safety of everyone traveling in the canyons.”
Hundreds of Twitter users have retweeted and favorited the post. The video had been viewed more than 10,000 times within hours.
“A big thank you to our team for making the canyons safe!” Gleason wrote.
Gleason did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News on Thursday afternoon.
ABC 4 News reported that “road closures were lifted on Little Cottonwood Canyon Thursday after crews with the Utah Avalanche Center and Utah Department of Transportation conducted avalanche control … between Maybird and the town of Alta ... to help prevent future slides.”
Transportation crews instructed vehicles headed up Little Cottonwood Canyon around the time to turn back, according to the TV station.
“It’s great — we wouldn’t be able to do all this if it wasn’t for the people who keep the roads open,” skier Wayne Cratin told ABC 4 News.
Little Cottonwood Canyon is in the Wasatch-Cache National Forest, offering skiing opportunities and summer resorts roughly 25 miles from Salt Lake City, according to a tourism website.
This story was originally published January 2, 2020 at 4:47 PM with the headline "Avalanche cascades down mountainside, billows onto Utah road in ‘incredible video’."
