May 13, 1997

The activity was discovered by UP&L crews last week. The movement has caused no damage other than to power poles in the area. One set of poles was moved 30 feet down slope, but the slide poses no additional immediate threat. Electrical service has not been interrupted.

The slide starts at the 5,800-foot level just east of Shurtz Lake on a bench known as The Pasture and extends to about the 5,100-foot level. It has moved generally in a northeasterly direction and stops on a bench about 1,000 feet west of the Spanish Fork River.

The slide is approximately 1,000 feet wide by 3,000 feet long. "We estimate the slide's depth at 50 feet, meaning it would contain about 6 million cubic yards of earth," says Barry Solomon of the UGS. "Right now, the slide is still moving, but has slowed. It is very complex, with several kinds of earth displacement. We are working with UP&L and the Utah County Engineer's office to monitor the movements of the slide."

In comparison, the 1983 Thistle slide, the most expensive in the history of the United States, was more than twice as large in surface area and was 100 feet deep. That slide moved more than 25 million cubic feet of earth.