Avalanche
- Slab Width
- 21 m
- Weak Layer
- New Snow/Old Snow Interface
- Trigger Type
- Natural
- Vertical Fall
- 107 m
- Avalanche Type
- Wet Loose
- Slab Thickness
- 25 cm
- Start Zone Aspect
- East
- Avalanche Problem
- New Snow
- Start Zone Elevation
- 2591 m
A natural avalanche cycle occurred in Huntington Canyon on the morning of Sunday, Feb 23. A storm with an east flow produced 10 to 15 inches of new snow in Huntington Canyon the night before. Skies quickly cleared in the morning and the sun heated the new snow and made it unstable. The avalanches involved only the new snow but still produced dangerous piles of debris on the road. A motorist was the first person to this pile of debris (photo below). The motorist decided to attempt to drive through the debris and luckily made it without getting stuck.
Forecaster comments: It is very dangerous to attempt to drive through avalanche debris. The problem is if a vehicle gets stuck, the vehicle and people are threatened by other avalanches that may release in the same area. If you come upon piles of debris like this, it is also unsafe to stop at the debris and get out of your vehicle. If you do this, you are exposed to other avalanches that may come down from the same slope or adjacent slopes. If you come upon debris like this, the safest thing to do is to turn around or back up until you are no longer underneath any steep slopes above the road.