TOOELE COUNTY, Utah — A pickup truck driver heading through Butterfield Canyon in Tooele County received a scare when he was nearly caught up in a road washout that was caused by recent rainstorms.
Paul Jenkins, Jr. was driving up the canyon Wednesday evening when he felt the road "flexing" and starting to give way. When he stopped and got out of his truck, Jenkins noticed nearly half the road ahead was gone.
Road washout up canyon seen in video below (Paul Jenkins):
“When you hit the apex of a roller coaster, that’s pitch black, then it gives away on you. That’s what it felt like. It felt like the bottom dropped out from under me," said Jenkins.
Jenkins said he punched the gas and got above the road damage.
"Kind of white-knuckled and shaking," he described. “And I look beside me, and that mountain gave way. Then I got out and looked at it, and you could see how far it was carved underneath, and that was just right after it happened.”
Video that Jenkins shared of the road shows it covered in mud and debris, before it comes to a section where the pavement completely disappears as water pours over the side. The ground under the road was eroded, and Jenkins said at least 3 feet of soil had disappeared while he was at the location.
Max Roth explains below how and why roads in Utah erode:
Jenkins went down and flagged other drivers so they could avoid the danger. He also called 911 and gave some advice to first responders.
"But I said, 'You better do more than cones because this is going to give away. There’s a gate at either side of the canyon, and you better lock them up.'”
The Tooele County Sheriff's Office announced Thursday morning that the canyon road had been closed, while the county's parks and recreation department called it impassable.
"If you're planning to travel between Tooele County and Salt Lake County through the canyon, please use an alternate route. Barricades have been placed at the pass, and road damage signs are posted near White Pine," the department posted to social media.
There is no timetable for when the road will be reopened, although an official told FOX 13 News that it will likely be closed for a while.
“Based upon that damage, we’ll keep the road closed for the time being while we assess options on that sort of repair," explained Steven Kuhlmeier with Salt Lake County Public Works. "We don’t have a timeline at this point.”
While the road is closed, the Tooele County side of the canyon is in good condition, the department said, and camping is still open at White Pine.
The canyon and surrounding areas were the site of brief but heavy downpours on Tuesday evening.
The road's closure comes days after floods heavily damaged SR-153 through Beaver Canyon in central Utah, forcing its indefinite closure.
