Sweeping avalanche buries 10 cars, trapping people for an hour, Colorado rescuers say
On Jan. 14, drivers on Berthoud Pass in Colorado could no longer move their cars forward.
“We hit a dead stop,” Anna Wagner told local outlet KDVR. She and her fiancé realized they were buried in snow.
In a week of nearly 500 avalanches in the state, according to Colorado Avalanche Information Center, they were in the middle of one of the scarier ones.
There were 10 cars in total, according to officials.
Other motorists pulled over to try to help dig out the buried ones, KDVR reported. But there was too much snow.
Finally, emergency crews arrived. The buried cars were soon free. According to officials, no one was injured during the incident.
It took rescuers about an hour to free people who were trapped, according to the Denver Gazette.
Colorado Department of Transportation closed Berthoud Pass following the incident without an estimated time for reopening, encouraging travelers to “plan ahead and find alternate routes.”
An average of six people per year die in avalanches in Colorado, according to the National Weather Service.
“Most avalanches occur during or just after snowstorms and most occur on a slope of 30 to 45 degrees,” experts said. “A significant snowfall may result in an unstable snowpack. By waiting 36 hours after a big snowstorm you may allow the snow to become more stable.”
If you get trapped in a vehicle during a storm, officials said you should stay inside it and stay visible to rescuers.
“Run the motor about 10 minutes each hour for heat,” the National Weather Service said. “While running the motor, open the window a little for fresh air to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning. Clear snow from the exhaust pipe to avoid gas poisoning.”
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