Avalanche Buries Part Of Colorado Highway

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Authorities are searching an area along a Colorado highway for signs of any vehicles trapped after an avalanche Saturday. Cars were buried under metres of snow and others may have been swept over the edge of the 3,446-metre-high Berthoud Pass, west of Denver. It's on a route that leads to Winter Park, one of Colorado's most popular ski areas. The rush of snow, ice and rocks across the busy Highway 40 follows three weeks of heavy snow in the state, which raised the threat of an avalanche, officials said. Saturday's avalanche, which happened around 10:30am, is said to have been 30-metres wide and 4.5 metres deep. "Our crews said it was the largest (avalanche) they have ever seen. It took three paths," said Stacey Stegman, spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Transportation. Seven people have been rescued and one was taken to hospital. Stegman said the situation could've been much worse had the avalanche happened a little earlier. Most of the traffic headed to the ski resort had already passed by 10:30am.