<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto">Courtesy of the Idaho Statesman at:<div><br></div><div><a href="https://amp.idahostatesman.com/news/weather-news/article227087789.html">https://amp.idahostatesman.com/news/weather-news/article227087789.html</a></div><div><br></div><div>———————————————</div><div><br></div><div><h1 class="title" style="font-size: 1.95552em; line-height: 1.2141em; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; max-width: 100%; caret-color: rgb(27, 27, 27); color: rgb(27, 27, 27); font-family: -apple-system-font;">‘Yes, there’s a highway under that snow’: Avalanches up to 50 feet deep bury Idaho road</h1></div><div><br></div><div><div>The road between two Idaho mountain towns may look like a ski hill, but Idaho Transportation Department officials promise there’s a highway in there somewhere.</div><div><br></div><div>“Here’s a shot of ID-21 today between Lowman and Stanley,” the department tweeted Monday morning. “Yes, there’s a highway under that snow. This avalanche slide is 40’ deep and 1/4 mile long!”</div><div><br></div><div>Department spokesman Jake Melder said the avalanche slide in the photo is one of several keeping Idaho 21 closed between mileposts 93 and 105, an area sometimes called Avalanche Alley.</div><div><br></div><div>“Avalanches in that area are common,” Melder said. “Avalanches of this magnitude, it does take a pretty special (weather) event to cause that.”</div><div><br></div><div>According to Melder, parts of the road are covered in as much as 50 feet of snow and debris.</div><div><br></div><div>That portion of the road has been closed intermittently since early February, when storms left feet of snow across the mountains. Melder said the road was closed Feb. 24 when a weekend storm dropped 5 feet of new snow in the area.</div><div><br></div><div>“It’s hard to say when the first slide happened,” Melder said. “We’re not going to put our (equipment) operators in an active slide area.”</div><div><br></div><div>It’s also hard to say when the road will reopen. Crews have been working on the stretch of highway since Friday, managing to clear about one mile of the 11-mile closure, Melder said. But more snowy weather is in the forecast for the mountains midweek, which could bring even more precipitation or destabilize existing snowpiles.</div><div><br></div><div>“We don’t know the full scope of what the slides are,” Melder said.</div><div><br></div><div>So how does ITD address such a massive cleanup effort?</div><div><br></div><div>Melder said the department first used explosives to test whether the snow would slide — and it did. Now officials are using snowplows, snowblowers and loaders to push, throw and transport the snow away.</div><div><br></div><div>“Basically, we take it layer by layer,” Melder said.</div><div><br></div><div>In the meantime, Melder emphasized that the public must stay out of the closed area.</div><div><br></div><div>“It’s really important that people obey the closure,” he said. “This is Idaho, we love the backcountry. But it’s a really difficult situation up there.”</div><div><br></div><div>He advised not only motorists to steer clear of the slides, but also snowmobilers, skiers and drone pilots.</div></div><div><br></div><div>———————————————<br><br><div dir="ltr"><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on)</span></div><div><a href="http://www.moscowcares.com/" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000">http://www.MoscowCares.com</font></a></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></div><div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Tom Hansen</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Moscow, Idaho</span></div></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div></div></div></body></html>