Mudslides strand more than 100 on U.S. highway

More than 100 people had to spend the night on a highway, including nearly 30 who took refuge in a 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 on Interstate 70 in Glenwood Canyon on Thursday night. Those in the tunnel were stuck for about nine hours until crews could carve out a path through the mud to reach them at about 6:30 a.m. Friday, Garfield County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Walt Stowe said.

The tunnel serves as a 24-hour operations centre for the Colorado Department of Transportation, so it is relatively well-lit and has telephones, Stowe said. No injuries were reported.

The transportation department has accounted for 108 people, including 29 in the tunnel, who were stuck on the highway overnight. Between 65 and 70 people remained stranded at a rest stop Friday afternoon as crews worked to punch a safe passage through the debris.

Mike Goolsby, a regional director for the transportation department, said the area was affected by about 10 slides, some four metres deep and up to 46 metres wide.

“I’m very grateful that no one was hurt . ... We’ve tried our hardest not to have people in the canyon when these flash flood warnings hit, but it was the best case scenario for all of us based on the outcome this morning,” he said.