Avalanche control devices get needed maintenance
HOBACK CANYON, Wyo. (KIFI) - The Hoback Canyon was blocked off during some intervals of the early morning hours Tuesday. The reason behind the road closure was due to a helicopter carrying a device that the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) uses to help reduce the risks of avalanche dangers in the Hoback Canyon.
"Every spring we bring them down to do maintenance on them through the summer and get them ready for next season," said Don Lawless the Jackson Avalanche supervisor for WYDOT.
The devices WYDOT uses to help reduce Avalanche damage in the canyon are called O'Bellx devices. Inside are tanks filled with Hydrogen and Oxygen gas, once released can create a man-made Avalanche.
"We've got two units that are above the roadway sitting in area where we can get radio contact with them. We connect with them through a laptop and detonate them remotely," Lawless said.
The devices are removed every spring once the snow melts away, as WYDOT performs routine maintenance on the O'Bellx devices.
"We'll restock the gas that goes into it, go through the units, make sure all the valves are working properly, and just do an inspection of the unit, make sure it's ready to go," Lawless said.
Lawless said they have used the devices quite a bit this past winter season.
"We had to fly them down earlier this year to restock the gas in them."
The O'Bellx devices nicknamed the Cow and the Calf will return to their homes in the canyon later this fall where they will continue to help limit the dangers of avalanches in the canyon.
