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Alex Cabrero reportingThe Utah National Guard is blocking all roads leading to a rural Utah town, at least that's what one blogger wants you to believe. He's claiming he can't reach anyone in his hometown, and he's worried the government is hiding something.
Rural Utah is about as rural as you can get anywhere, which is why when Andrew Tobler couldn't reach anyone in his rural hometown of Piedmont, Utah by phone. According to his blog, he got worried. Multiply that by 10 when he saw a news report about the Utah National Guard not letting anyone into Piedmont.
He says, "The Utah National Guard says it's nothing more than a routine training exercise."
We looked at a Utah map and found the towns of Grouse Creek, Stockmore, Ticaboo, Modena, Bonanaza, and Ibapah, but no Piedmont. Melissa Ferguson, with the Utah Division of State History, says Piedmont, Utah doesn't exist and never did.
It turns out, there is no Piedmont, there is no Andrew Tobler, and there is no Utah National Guard buildup outside of some rural area. What the whole story is, is a creative way to create some buzz about an upcoming TV movie.
Marshall Moore, the director of the Utah Film Commission, says, "I think it's pretty genius for them to come up with that and then have people believe this is really happening."
Piedmont, Utah is actually the fictional location for A&E's re-make of the "Andromeda Strain." To promote it, without giving it away, A&E has a realistic-looking Web site about a man looking for his family.
Moore says, "It makes sense for them to pick Utah. There's a lot of desolation in parts of the state."
Maybe even the type of desolation that just might get you to believe the back-story.
Ferguson said, "I actually think it's a very clever way of marketing."
That is, if it's truly just marketing and not a Utah government cover-up.
Ironically, while Utah was considered the perfect place for the setting for the movie, it wasn't the best place to film it. The movie was shot in Canada.
E-mail: acabrero@ksl.com
