A video captured a major rock slide in Utah’s Zion National Park, forcing the closure of the scenic drive of the main canyon.
The rockfall occurred around 3.20 p.m. Monday along the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive between the Great White Throne pull-out and the Big Bend Shuttle Stop, National Park Service officials said in a statement.
A block of Navajo sandstone “failed” on a nearly vertical cliff above the roadway. High temperatures and vegetation rooting likely contributed to the rockfall, according to the Park Service. Some three tons (nine cubic meters) of debris have since been removed from the road, officials said.
Park rangers directed traffic to be temporarily stopped in both directions around the affected area between the Grotto and the Temple of Sinawava.
Visitors were safely evacuated from north of the rockfall, officials said.
“Thankfully, there were no injuries or property damage,” Jeff Bradybaugh, Zion National Park Superintendent, said in a statement. “Rockfall can happen anywhere at any time in this highly erosive landscape.”
Salt Lake City’s KUTV2 posted a video of bikers on the scenic road — and another video of a cloud of dust after the rockfall.
Terri French and her husband were riding e-bikes down the canyon near the Big Bend parking area when they passed a big crowd of people.
"Just as we were passing this group of people, I heard a loud sound that started out like a crack of thunder. Immediately, someone in the turnout yelled, 'Rockfall!'" French told the Deseret News.
She said she rode ahead as the sound of rocks falling crashed behind her. At first she feared her husband didn’t make it out of the rock slide, but then she saw him further down the road, French told the newspaper.
"As far as we know, we were the last two people to travel through the area before the rock slide happened," she said.
The scenic drive reopened Tuesday afternoon after the park’s physical scientist assessed the site.
“Caution rockfall zone ahead” signs have been posted in the area, officials said.
“We ask visitors not to linger through this area. Rockfall in Zion is frequent and unpredictable, it’s difficult to predict when or where the next rockfall will happen,” the statement read.
