Avalanche beacons serve as potential life-saving devices for plow drivers


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SALT LAKE COUNTY — Snow dumped in the northern Utah canyons at the rate of at least one inch per hour throughout Monday.

UDOT plow drivers trying to clear the snow constantly confront hazardous weather conditions, so they come equipped with avalanche beacons — devices that might just save their lives one day.

As people headed up to the canyons Monday, many noticed whiteout conditions.

"It came in and just dumped," said Semi Tuiatua, a UDOT plow driver. "It was probably dropping two or three inches an hour. It just came in a hurry.”

Tuiatua's plow and another truck made seven or eight passes to clear and salt Big Cottonwood Canyon Road.

"It lasted longer than what I really expected. I didn't expect to see this much," Tuiatua said.

However, the snow kept on coming, and car slide-offs snarled traffic in the early evening.

"When it snows really bad like this, anything can happen at any time,” Tuiatua said.

Because of that extra danger in the Cottonwood canyons, UDOT plow drivers on these particular routes wear avalanche beacons strapped around their torsos while driving.

"It's like our lifeline," Tuiatua said.


They're working on the road, and the machine gets buried. The avalanche forecasters and the people at the resorts will be able to respond and find them.

–Jake Brown, UDOT canyons plow supervisor


The drivers wear the devices just in case they go off the road during whiteout conditions, or are swept off by an avalanche without anyone seeing them.

"They're working on the road, and the machine gets buried. The avalanche forecasters and the people at the resorts will be able to respond and find them," Jake Brown, UDOT canyons plow supervisor, said.

The beacon sends out a signal when it's turned on. And another driver, or rescuers, with a comparable beacon is subsequently able to hone in on the signal.

"Every storm, we have to wear it. Every time we come up here," Tuiatua said. “It's very good to be prepared at all times."

The drivers were back early Tuesday ready to clean up the canyons again. Little Cottonwood Canyon will close around 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. for avalanche control. A lot of traffic is expected to head up into the mountains to enjoy the fresh powder.

Contributing: Sara Jarman

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