GRAND COUNTY, Colo. — The closure of US 40 over Berthoud Pass will continue into Tuesday after an avalanche Sunday morning.
The Colorado Department of Transportation said the highway has been closed in both directions between Robins Roost and Henderson Mine Road, south of Winter Park, since the avalanche happened around 11:20 a.m. Sunday.
There's no word on when the highway will reopen.
Ten vehicles were reportedly caught in the avalanche, CDOT said. No injuries were reported. CDOT said all vehicles and passengers caught in the slide were safely pulled out of it by a little after noon.
Avalanche closes Berthoud Pass
Kaitlyn Punzalan, her husband and friends were in one of those 10 cars. They were driving back to Denver after a weekend tubing in Granby.
"My friend was driving my car and all of a sudden he goes - 'Ah, avalanche!' And we just look up and see all of this snow coming down towards us," Punzalan said.
She said it took them about an hour to dig out.
"There were people in the cars waiting behind us that got out of their cars and helped dig my car out too," she said.
CDOT said travelers should be prepared for possible safety closures on highways across Colorado’s high country, including Interstate 70. Safety closures are implemented, sometimes with short notice, due to extreme adverse conditions or high avalanche danger. Closures are also needed for avalanche mitigation and snow removal operations. These winter maintenance operations will take place in the next few days as heavy snow and windy conditions continue, CDOT said.
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