Date: July 25, 2007
Contact: Al Nash, (307) 344-2010
Contact: Stacy Vallie, (307)-344-2012
The East Entrance to Yellowstone National Park is set to re-open to traffic at 8 o’clock Thursday morning after being temporarily closed Wednesday night due to a small mud slide.
Mud and rock fell across both lanes of the East Entrance road just east of Sylvan Pass about 5:30 pm Wednesday. The slide, triggered by a heavy downpour, was about 50 feet long and varied from one to five feet deep. No vehicles were trapped in the slide, and no one was hurt.
Yellowstone National Park rangers and maintenance staff were joined by representatives of the Federal Highway Administration and H-K Contractors, Inc. in clearing the debris. The effort was complicated by the need to scan the material visually and with a metal detector for unexploded ordinance used in avalanche control before removing the debris from the road.
Park rangers temporarily closed the road at the East Entrance Station and at the Pelican Creek barricade near Fishing Bridge.
The East Entrance road was closed for six days in July 2004 when heavy rains caused several mud slides, bringing 30-thousand tons of debris down upon the same location.
Updated information on park roads is available 24-hours a day by calling (307) 344-2117.
- www.nps.gov/yell -
