Yellowstone will reduce use of howitzer to trigger avalanches
October 13, 2006
Officials plan to trigger controlled avalanches at Sylvan Pass in Yellowstone National Park this winter by dropping explosives from a helicopter while cutting back on the use of an aging 105 mm howitzer.
Park officials have been trying to reduce the use of the howitzer for years because they say it’s unsafe for employees and often shoots shells that do not immediately explode, but could detonate later.
‘If this was an easy problem to be solved, it would’ve been solved a decade ago,’ said Steve Swanke, acting health and safety manager at Yellowstone. ‘It’s far from that.’
The park has contracted with a Bozeman company for the past two years to perform helicopter missions over Sylvan Pass, on the route into the park from Yellowstone’s east entrance, to drop explosives that trigger avalanches. The missions prevent snow from building up that could later fall unexpectedly on visitors or workers.
Swanke said the helicopter will be used again this winter. He said the howitzer will be used only in limited cases, such as when bad weather or another emergency keeps the helicopter from flying avalanche missions.
‘I think we’re going to lean a little heavier on the helicopter this year than we did last year,’ Swanke said.
Park officials estimate there are as many as 300 unexploded howitzer shells in the hills around Sylvan Pass from years of using the howitzer. The pass was closed for a day last spring after a construction worker found an unexploded shell on the road.
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