EAST MISSOULA – Residents in the Rattlesnake — and now East Missoula — are listening for the rumble of an avalanche as an Urban Avalanche Warning remains in effect for both sides of Mount Jumbo.
Two gullies run along the backside of Mount Jumbo in East Missoula and the accumulating snow has experts with the West Central Avalanche Center concerned.
- City officials watching Mount Jumbo after avalanche warning issued
- Urban Avalanche Warning issued for Mount Jumbo
It wouldn’t be the first time that an avalanche in this area has happened. A young person was killed there in the early 1990s.
“One of the other fatalities on Mount Jumbo was from the 12-year-old with the camera. I believe it was the early 90’s. That’s what sticks there, and that was on the east side towards East Missoula,” said Travis Craft with the West Central Avalanche Center.
“And we looked at those gullies and those gullies are still in the same that looked very reminiscent of those pictures. Those would also be problem areas,” he continued.
An avalanche in 2014 claimed one life when the snow roared off Mount Jumbo into a Rattlesnake neighborhood in Missoula.
Mount Jumbo remains closed and the experts say people should stay off and of the steep slopes on all mountains around the city.
Officers are patrolling the area now and residents are being asked to report violators immediately to 911.
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