Mudslides force more than 100 to spend night on highway

GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — More than 100 radical had to walk the nighttime connected a highway, including astir 30 who took refuge successful a tunnel, aft rainfall implicit an country burned by a wildfire erstwhile again triggered mudslides successful occidental Colorado, authorities said Friday.

The radical were caught with their vehicles connected Interstate 70 successful Glenwood Canyon connected Thursday night. Those successful the passageway were stuck for astir 9 hours until crews could carve retired a way done the mud to scope them astatine astir 6:30 a.m. Friday, Garfield County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Walt Stowe said.

The passageway serves arsenic a 24-hour operations halfway for the Colorado Department of Transportation, truthful it is comparatively well-lit and has telephones, Stowe said. No injuries were reported.

The proscription section has accounted for 108 people, including 29 successful the tunnel, who were stuck connected the road overnight. Between 65 and 70 radical remained stranded astatine a remainder halt Friday day arsenic crews worked to punch a harmless transition done the debris.

Mike Goolsby, a determination manager for the proscription department, said the country was affected by astir 10 slides, immoderate 12 feet (4 meters) heavy and up to 150 feet (46 meters) wide.

“I’m precise grateful that nary 1 was hurt. … We’ve tried our hardest not to person radical successful the canyon erstwhile these flash flood warnings hit, but it was the champion lawsuit script for each of america based connected the result this morning,” helium said.

Glenwood Canyon has cliffs towering up to 2,000 feet (610 meters) supra the Colorado River, making it prone to rockslides and mudslides. In caller weeks, rainfall implicit the country burned by a wildfire past summertime has triggered predominant slides, resulting successful closures of I-70, Colorado’s main east-west highway. Those closures person mostly occurred earlier the tempest moves in, to forestall radical from being trapped.

On Thursday, the canyon had temporarily closed earlier successful the time arsenic 1 tempest compartment approached but had reopened by the clip a 2nd tempest compartment moved in, which led to the vehicles and their passengers getting trapped.

Transportation officials accidental the conception of interstate is expected to beryllium closed astatine slightest done the play due to the fact that of the important cleanup underway and due to the fact that of dense rainfall successful the forecast. The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood ticker for the area.