Glenwood canyon mudslides force more than 100 motorists to spend their night on the highway, nearly 30 of whom took refuge in a tunnel after rain on a burnt-out area in western Colorado caused more landslides, said on Friday authorities.
People were caught in their vehicles on Interstate 70 in Glenwood Canyon on Thursday evening.
Those in the tunnel were trapped for about nine hours before crews could make their way through the mud to reach them around 6.30 am. Walt Stowe, the spokesperson for the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office, said Friday.
The tunnel serves as a 24-hour operations center for the Colorado Department of Transportation, so it’s relatively well lit and has telephones, Stowe said. No injuries were reported.
The traffic authority counted 108 people, including 29 in the tunnel who were trapped in the street overnight.
Between 65 and 70 people were stranded at a rest area on Friday afternoon as teams scrambled to clear a safe passage through the rubble.
Mike Goolsby, regional director for the Department of Transportation, said the area had been affected by about 10 landslides, about 4 meters deep and up to 46 meters in width.
“I’m so grateful that no one was hurt… We did our best to keep people out of the canyon when those flash flood warnings came in, but it was the best scenario for us. all of us depending on the result this morning.” he said.
Glenwood Canyon has cliffs that rise up to 6,000 feet above the Colorado River, making them prone to rock slides and landslides.
In recent weeks, rain over the area that was scorched by a wildfire last summer has caused frequent landslides that have closed I-70, Colorado’s main east-west highway. These closures were mostly done before the storm to prevent people from getting trapped.
On Thursday, the canyon had temporarily closed earlier in the day as a thunderstorm cell approached, but reopened when a second thunderstorm cell was installed, trapping vehicles and their passengers.
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Traffic officials said the section of the highway is expected to be closed for at least the weekend due to ongoing major clean-ups and heavy rain forecast.
The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood warning for the area.
