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AMERICAN FORK — At least three mudslides or rockslides hit American Fork Canyon Sunday, one of which shut down the Alpine Loop for several hours. Officials say the wet weather was the cause.
A slide occurred at about 3:15 p.m., according to Lt. Steve Winward with the Utah Highway Patrol, partially covering the S.R. 92 and closing down one lane. That forced traffic to crawl through at a very slow pace.
Officials closed the road completely for several hours in order to get crews up American Fork Canyon to clean the slide and allow for full traffic flow. The Utah Department of Transportation tweeted that all lanes were opened just after 7 p.m., but encouraged drivers to be careful around crews that were still on the road at the site of the slide Sunday evening.
About two miles further up the canyon, a second mudslide occurred. Both were caused by the hard rainstorm that hit overnight. UDOT said an ATV tried driving over the mud, slid and rolled down the hill, though the driver was uninjured.
Ranger Quinn Linford with National Park Service said the Timpanogos trails were also hit with a rockslide, with some spots seeing rocks as many as three feet deep.
No campers or hikers were hit, though they were given hard hats as they were led off the trails. Linford said all Monday tours are now canceled.
