Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Yellowstone Artillery Shell A Dud

Sylvan Pass Temporarily Closed
avalanches not expected this summer





-- An artillery shell discovered Monday closed Sylvan Pass, and stopped construction on the road in Yellowstone National Park, while a team from Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls, Mont., was called to remove and detonate the shell. The pass re-opened for travel yesterday at about 10:30 AM.
-- The shell was discovered by a member of the construction crew working on the new road alignment.
-- The artillery shell is one of about 300 known duds in Yellowstone that are used to control avalanches. Of the known duds, about 10% could could detonate spontaneously, without any warning.
-- It is not anticipated that any avalanches will occure this summer, and the construction on the road should continue on schedual.

-- Yellowstone has posted the construction schedual for the road - including the planned delays on it's web site. A complete detail is available in PDF format HERE.
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