Controlled avalanches along Yellowstone National Park's Sylvan Pass will be triggered more from helicopters this year than by shooting the aging 105mm howitzer on the hill. Park officials for years have been looking to reduce their reliance on the howitzer because it's unsafe for employees and has a long record of shooting duds that could later detonate. "If this was an easy problem to be solved, it would've been solved a decade ago," said Steve Swanke, Yellowstone's acting health and safety manager, who has been involved with the avalanche issue for years. "It's far from that."
For years, Yellowstone employees have ridden snowmobiles through avalanche-prone areas to reach the mounted howitzer gun, which is on loan from the military. Once they reach the platform, they fire 55-pound shells into the hillside to set off avalanches. The shells, though, are unreliable. Park officials have estimated there may be as many as 300 unexploded shells in the hills around Sylvan Pass. Last spring, the pass was closed for a day after a construction worker found an unexploded shell on the side of the road. The howitzer costs, though, could soon be going up. Swanke said he expects the costs of the shells to increase from about $20 to $200.
The two-year pilot program to test use of a helicopter, from which crews inside drop explosives by hand, has been successful so far, Swanke said. "We're highly satisfied," he said.
All right. I posted it for the title. |
