
An avalanche closed a highway in Lincoln, Montana, for several hours and buried a tractor trailer in snow on Friday evening.
It happened late Friday evening on Montana Highway 200, just east of the intersection with Montana Highway 141.
A semi truck that was traveling on Highway 200 was buried up to its cab’s roof as the avalanche dropped feet of snow onto the roadway. Thankfully, the driver of the truck wasn’t injured in the avalanche.
Lincoln Rural Fire Chief Zach Muse shared images from the avalanche and described the scene.
“The wind is blowing about 50 miles per hour out there and all the snow, I think he (semi driver) thought it was a big wind gust.”
“I think he caught the tail end of it and then the snow from the avalanche filled in around the cab and cemented him in,” he added.
According to Lincoln Fire Department, the avalanche was roughly a quarter-mile long.
The avalanche occurred on Friday evening around 10 p.m., and road was finally reopened on Saturday morning around 8 a.m.
Although the road has reopened, Fire Chief Zach Muse advised others to stay off is possible.
“Flat deadly out there. Horrible winds. The road is drifted, its solid ice where it isn’t drifted, and there is so much snow that the road is a bit narrower. And there are e plows on it. They can’t keep up. Not to mention the deer and moose are staying on the roads. Please stay off the roads. Its bad up here,” he wrote on Facebook.
The identity of the truck driver has not been revealed, however his wife, Mags Campbell, mentioned that he is a contract driver for USPS.
“That was my husband driving. He is a contracted driver for the USPS. As you know the mail must go through, even at the expense of risking one’s life in the worst kinds of weather conditions. I appreciate all of you and LC for risking your own lives to make others safe,” she said.