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ST. GEORGE — Crews are working to clear debris and discover what caused a 3,000-foot rockfall in Zion National Park Saturday night.
Park officials are still unsure of what caused the rockfall, which injured three and left several visitors temporarily stranded after being showered by a plume of dust and debris.
“It’s kind of an off thing for us because the other rock slides that we’ve had have been during wet precipitated seasons, with snowfall or rainfall causing mudslides or rock slides. This one is just kind of different for us. It was a hot, summer, August day there in the park,” park spokesperson Eugenne Moisa said.
The rock fell from around 3,000 feet above the shuttle stop, crashing into a ledge and breaking into pieces on its way down. A large plum of dust could be seen falling down the cliff face when the incident occurred. Debris fell onto both the Weeping Rock trail and the East Rim Trail, leaving a large rock at the fork on the path between the two.