Glenwood Springs (US), July 31 (AP): More than 100 people, including about 30 people who took refuge in a tunnel after rain in an area ravaged by wildfires once again, had to spend the night on the highway, leaving western countries Once again there was a landslide. Colorado, officials said Friday.
People were caught with their vehicles on Interstate 70 in Glenwood Canyon on Thursday night. Garfield County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Walt Stowe said they were trapped in the tunnel for about nine hours until crews were able to make their way through the mud to reach them at around 6:30 a.m. Friday.
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. No one was reported to be injured.
The Transport Department has held 108 people, including 29 people trapped in the tunnel trapped on the highway overnight.
Glenwood Canyon has cliffs up to 2,000 feet above the Colorado River, making it prone to rockslides and mudslides. In recent weeks, rain has triggered repeated slides in an area burned by wildfires last summer, resulting in the closure of I-70, Colorado’s main east–west highway.
Most of these shutdowns have happened before the arrival of the storm to avoid getting trapped people.
Stowe said that on Thursday, the canyon was temporarily closed earlier in the day as a storm cell came in, but had reopened by the time the second storm cell was gone, leaving vehicles and their passengers trapped.
Transportation officials say significant clean-up is underway and the interstate section is expected to be closed through the weekend due to heavy rain forecast.
“Since the National Weather Service has put the area back under flash flood watch, there is a limited window of time for all abandoned vehicles to be moved to safety,” the Department of Transportation said in a news release. (AP) CPS
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