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[sara1998]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/01/06/avalanche/index.html

DENVER, Colorado (CNN) -- A massive avalanche -- 200 feet wide and 15 feet deep -- swept across one of Colorado's main recreation routes, burying at least two cars and prompting a search for possible survivors Saturday.

Officials said six people were rescued from two cars, and one person was taken to a hospital by ambulance.

The avalanche rumbled across U.S. 40 in three places near 11,307-foot Berthoud Pass, 50 miles west of Denver, shortly after 10:30 a.m. (12:30 p.m. ET). The busy freeway leads to the popular Winter Park ski resort. (Watch a traveler on the road talk about lack of avalanche warnings )

U.S. 40 will remain closed between Winter Park and Interstate 70 "for the foreseeable future," said Bob Wilson, spokesman for the Colorado Department of Transportation.

"They're going to continue the rescue effort up there to make sure that there are no other vehicles that are involved," said Colorado State Patrol spokesman Eric Wynn. "And if there is, to get those vehicles or occupants out of there as quick as we can."

A series of large snowstorms during the past three weeks raised the threat of an avalanche, Wynn said.

Rescue workers were using equipment ranging from front-end loaders to cross-country skis to remove snow, rocks, trees and other debris and search for survivors.

"This is a tremendous amount of snow to come down on the mountain side for us," said Stacy Stegman, spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Transportation. "We don't typically see these types of avalanches."

Avalanches in that area are typically only 2 to 3 feet deep, she said.

With such a large amount of snow, the search and rescue effort is "going to take quite some time," she said. "We're still hoping to make sure that there aren't others" trapped under the snow.

Stegman said traffic to the ski area is heavy earlier in the morning, but usually has eased by the hour the avalanche occurred.

"That's one of the things that we're very thankful for at this moment," she said. "If it would have happened just a couple hours earlier, this could have been a very different situation.

"But as it stands now, we believe only two cars were involved."

A routine, controlled avalanche set off in the area on Tuesday produced "a good slide," Stegman said.

"That's why it's pretty surprising to see this amount of snow (in the avalanche)," she said. "I think this is just an indication of the extreme amount of snow that we've had in Colorado."

The National Weather Service has issued a blowing snow advisory for the area into Sunday, CNN meteorologist Bonnie Schneider said.

Winds were gusting to 40 mph in the area, and steady winds were recorded at 25 mph at the avalanche site.

"But the blowing snow advisory goes straight through Sunday, so we're looking at poor visibility straight into Sunday," Schneider said. "The possibility of maybe a couple more inches of snow combined with strong winds will make for treacherous travel conditions."