Officials on Monday downgraded their response to the West Salt Creek landslide on the Grand Mesa roughly a year after a massive chunk of land broke loose near the town of Collbran, .
The response to Level Two because conditions indicated the “sag pond” that formed near the top of the slide from rainwater, snowmelt and other runoff was likely to spill, officials said.
“Since Wednesday’s designation, though, snowpack in the basin above the landslide diminished,” Mesa County said in a news release. “Also, storms that were forecast for the weekend did not produce substantial rain in the landslide area.”
After a week of monitoring, the decision was made to downgrade the response to Level One.
The highest alert level is Level Three
“Mesa County officials will continue to actively monitor the landslide area and will elevate the response level again if conditions deteriorate,” the release said. “U.S. Forest Service restrictions remain in place, and trespassing is prohibited on private property.”
The landslide last year left a swath of debris 3 miles long and just under a mile wide.
Jesse Paul: 303-954-1733, jpaul@denverpost.com or twitter.com/JesseAPaul
