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Sam Penrod and Andrew Adams reportingEaster weekend has arrived very early this year, but it's not discouraging thousands of people to continue the annual tradition of recreation at the Little Sahara Sand Dunes.
Hundreds of ATVs are going up and down Sand Mountain at the Little Sahara Recreation area in Juab County.
It's the excitement riding ATVs in the sand with thousands of people around that brings riders like Cassie Mceuen to the Sand Dunes. "I actually got here yesterday, had a little night ride and came out this morning, surprised at the amount of people. I'm glad it's not snowing like it usually does," Mceuen says.
Ron Cobbley has been coming to the Sand Dunes on Easter Weekend for 28 years now. Cobbley says, "It's changed a lot. It's got a lot more popular. There's a lot more people out here. Hopefully, things won't get out of hand tonight."
While it's already busy at Little Sahara, the crowds will continue to increase through the weekend, and by Sunday, more than 30,000 people are expected to be here.
"All in all, it's a great place to bring your family and [a] fun place to come, but you need to know the safety issues," said Sheriff Alden Orme with the Juab County Sheriff's Office.
Orme and his deputies patrol the sand dunes to look out for safety concerns with the ATVs. But they also enforce underage alcohol and drug crimes. In fact, a car was stopped today with teenagers all under 18, and officers confiscated several bottles of hard liquor. "Don't drink and drive, even on an ATV. It's against the law to be impaired and operate a motor vehicle anywhere in the state of Utah, and that is one of the things we are really going to be enforcing and looking for," Orme said.
Officers will even be watching out for stolen ATVs. Orme says sometimes they get stolen and then brought back the next year.
And with a small city of trailers and tents growing at the sand dunes, it will be a difficult task for law enforcement to keep this Easter weekend a safe one for the thousands of people camping at Little Sahara.
The Juab County Sheriff's Office gets a lot of help from state law enforcement agencies and neighboring counties to accommodate the population surge this weekend.
E-mail: spenrod@ksl.com
E-mail: aadams@ksl.com
