Mudslides force about 20 to spend night in highway tunnel
Authorities say about 20 people had to spend the night inside a highway tunnel after rain over an area burned by a wildfire once again triggered mudslides in western Colorado
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.About 20 people had to spend the night inside a highway tunnel after rain over an area burned by a wildfire once again triggered mudslides in western Colorado, authorities said Friday.
The people were caught with their vehicles Thursday night inside the tunnel along Interstate 70 in Glenwood Canyon for about nine hours until crews could carve out a path through the mud to reach them about 6:30 a.m. Friday, Garfield County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Walt Stowe said. The tunnel serves as a 24-hour operations center for the Colorado Department of Transportation, so it is relatively well-lit and has telephones, Stowe said. No injuries were reported.
Some vehicles remained stuck in the mud that slid on the open section of the highway, but it was not clear how many people may be in them, Stowe said. The Colorado Department of Transportation was working to reach them.
Glenwood Canyon has cliffs towering up to 2,000 feet (610 meters) above the Colorado River making it prone to rockslides and mudslides. In recent weeks, rain over the area burned by a wildfire last summer has triggered frequent slides, resulting in closures of I-70, Colorado's main east-west highway. Those closures have mostly occurred before the storm moves in, to prevent people from being trapped.
On Thursday, the canyon had temporarily closed earlier in the day as one storm cell approached but had reopened by the time a second storm cell moved in, which led to the vehicles and their passengers getting trapped, Stowe said.