Montana

2 people hurt, vehicles trapped in Glacier National Park mudslide

Posted: Jul 17, 2012 9:45 PM by MTN News
Updated: Jul 18, 2012 7:36 AM

GLACIER NATIONAL PARK - Two visitors suffered minor injuries today when a strong storm packing heavy winds apparently triggered a rock and mudslide along Glacier National Park's Going to the Sun Highway.

Tonight a five mile stretch of the scenic road remains closed to traffic as park crews work to remove the debris.

The storm hit around 3:30 Tuesday afternoon.

The debris on the road trapped as many as 10 vehicles on the roadway.

"There was a lot of debris on the road, lots of water running down, the creeks were very muddy," said Canada resident Steve Schultz who was on the road when the slides hit.

"Finally, some bulldozers came down and took about an hour to clear the road or so overall. We waited about two hours but it took about an hour to actually get the debris off the road," explained Schulz.

One vehicle was hit by some of the falling debris, smashing windows and leaving large dents in the car.

The slides occured between Avalanche Creek and Logan Pass, forcing park officials to close that stretch of road.

Park rangers, road contractors and other National Park Service employees all responded to the incident.

Glacier Park spokeswoman Denise Germann says crews are working to tow one damaged car, after escorting several others out of the closure area through one lane of traffic.

Germann says the closure will remain in effect throughout the night.

Topics: Billings, KTVQ, Glacier National Park, mudslide, rock slide