PROVO CANYON, Utah, Jan. 17, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — Provo Canyon is closed following an avalanche that is up to 30 feet deep in some places, officials said Thursday evening.
A tweet from the Utah Highway Patrol at 7:30 p.m. said: “We’ve had an avalanche at mile marker 12 on SR-189 in Provo Canyon. The canyon is currently closed. Reports are that it is up to 30 feet deep in some spots on the roadway. It is covering all the lanes.”
No people or vehicles were caught in the avalanche, the tweet said.
The Utah Department of Transportation added in a tweet that crews triggered the avalanche as part of their avalanche control efforts.
UHP added: “Cleanup will take hours.”
A follow up tweet said troopers are getting reports of a rock slide on SR-92 at mile marker 26.
“Unrelated to the avalanche, but there are several hundred pound boulders blocking the road,” the tweet said. “Heavy rain is causing some serious issues in our canyons right now.”
UDOT also tweeted that Little Cottonwood Canyon will be closing at 10 p.m. Thursday due to severe weather.
“It is anticipated the canyon will open at 8 a.m. Friday morning, but that could be pushed back depending on avalanche conditions,” the tweet said.
The Utah Avalanche Center has issued an avalanche warning for backcountry areas in Utah, effective through the weekend. The affected area is the mountains of northern and central Utah.
Gephardt Daily will have more on this developing story as information is made available.
