Vehicles line up by Big Cottonwood Canyon early Friday morning. The canyon is closed for avalanche mitigation (Utah Department of Transportation)
SALT LAKE CITY — Crashes and avalanches are impacting canyon travel as another round of snow arrived in northern Utah Friday.
Both directions of U.S. 91 are closed at Sardine Canyon “until further notice,” Cache County dispatch officials tweeted shortly after 7:20 a.m. The update came two hours after it reported that multiple vehicles had gotten stuck by the roadway.
A natural avalanche fell near Laurel Pines, more than 9 miles into Big Cottonwood Canyon, according to Utah Department of Transportation spokesman Mitch Shaw. There were no reports of anyone buried.
Access into the canyon is currently closed for avalanche mitigation. It was expected to reopen around 9 a.m. but the closure is now expected to last until at least 11 a.m., according to UDOT.
Some schools are impacted as a result of road conditions. Park City School District officials said all its schools are closed Friday, while Layton Christian Academy switched to remote learning.
The Wasatch Front, Tooele and Cache valleys remain in a winter weather advisory through noon Friday. KSL meteorologist Matt Johnson said showers will begin to break up in the valleys through the mid-morning. Some scattered showers are possible throughout the day but nothing as large as the snow this morning.