An avalanche in a Utah canyon on Sunday could have been the primary human-caused slide of the 12 months.
The avalanche was triggered at upper elevations within the Central Wasatch mountain range in Little Cottonwood Canyon near the “Foremost Chute” of Mt. Baldy, FOX13 Salt Lake City reported.
“Winter has arrived and human triggered avalanches are possible,” the Utah Avalanche Center said in a tweet.
“Hikers, hunters, runners and backcountry users alike, heads-up as we have now shifted seasons and winter hazards are upon us,” the agency said.
The avalanche comes a day after the world saw its first snowfall of the season, which the agency called a “good get up call,” the station reported.
Avalanches pose a big danger in Utah’s mountains between January and April during heavy snow accumulation and unstable snowpack conditions.
“Avalanches are definitely possible, and it doesn’t matter what time of 12 months it’s,” read a UAC forecast on Saturday. “It doesn’t matter what you’re doing – going for a hike, hunting, attempting to ski or board, or snowshoe; be prepared for avalanches.”
“The essential issue can be fresh deposits of wind-drifted snow that would produce slab avalanches,” the forecast continued. “Nevertheless, in some places where 2-3 feet of snow may accumulate, the latest snow alone may produce soft slab avalanches or sluffs of recent snow.”
Last 12 months, the agency recorded 7 avalanche fatalities in Utah.