A UHP spokesperson said motorists could barely see 10 feet ahead and there were multiple spin-offs. Wasatch County Search and Rescue Captain Kam Kohler said there were a couple hundred cars stuck on the road.
“Whether they're spun off or stuck right in the middle of the road, it didn't matter you're stuck," he said. "There was no way to move in a car or a truck. Even four-wheel drive was useless.”
Kohler said it was difficult to clear the roads since snowplows couldn’t get through with all the stranded cars. But with the help of about 45 search and rescue team members from Wasatch, Uintah and Summit counties, Utah Highway Patrol and the Wasatch County Sheriff’s Department, the road was evacuated in three to four hours.
The conditions also stranded a fisherman on Strawberry Reservoir off Highway 40. Kohler said Wasatch County Search and Rescue began a search Friday night after a group of fishermen were separated.
“Conditions were bad to navigate in the backcountry. Out on the lake where you have no trees, it's even worse because everything is white. So there's no depth perception," he said. "But we got the fishermen taken care of and everybody out.”
UHP said Highway 40 reopened Saturday morning around 9 a.m.
