Cause of rock slide solved when driver checks Google Maps, New Mexico officials say

Mark Price

When boulders the size of cars suddenly appear on a highway, it’s natural to wonder where they came from.

In the case of a massive rock slide reported Saturday, Jan. 28, in New Mexico, that riddle was solved when someone checked a Google Maps photo for the spot.

That July 2022 image seems terrifying when viewed in retrospect. It shows motorists have been driving under what amounted to a ticking time bomb — a large slab of rock that stuck out over U.S. 82 like a balcony.

These are the before and after photos shared by the Cloudcroft Fire Department.
These are the before and after photos shared by the Cloudcroft Fire Department.

That balcony snapped off early Saturday, leading to a wall of boulders taller than vehicles slamming down on both traffic lanes.

No one was hurt.

The Cloudcroft Fire Department reports motorist John Duresky of High Rolls drove up to the rubble “while dust was still in the air,” and he’s the one who checked Google Maps.

“He found a historical photo showing exactly where the rock originated,” the department posted.

The time it fell has not been reported, but the state posted closure warnings at 9:11 a.m., noting traffic was being rerouted 13 miles from High Rolls to Alamogordo. The highway reopened Monday, Jan. 30, after crews removed the debris and repaved the area.

The flat layer of rock jutting out of the cliff side is what fell on U.S. 82, officials say.
The flat layer of rock jutting out of the cliff side is what fell on U.S. 82, officials say.

News of the rock slide had a chilling effect on people who regularly drive on the highway. Some admitted they long feared that particular spot and would “say a prayer” when driving under the rock.

“You don’t know how many times when it was raining I kept looking up. Knew it would happen some day,” Larinea Nolan wrote.

“That is a chunk of mountain slide, not so much a rock slide,” Daniel Delong wrote.

“People need to realize this can happen anytime,” Gaye Fox posted.

“Hand of God. A Saturday and high volume traffic, how did it NOT crush someone? Wow,” Sandra Chamness wrote..

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