Mt. Shasta mudslide blamed on drought, melting glacier
By Veronica Rocha, Los Angeles Times
California’s prolonged drought is believed to have caused a massive mudslide on Mt. Shasta over the weekend after meltwater from a glacier sent torrents of debris and mud down the mountain, officials said.
Experts believe glacial melting, accelerated by the drought, may have released “pockets of water” that destabilized massive ice blocks and causing the debris flow Saturday afternoon in Shasta-Trinity National Forest, officials said.
No injuries were reported, and there was no immediate estimate for how much material was caught up in the debris flow, which occurred in Mud Creek Canyon on the southeast side of the mountain, according to the U.S. Forest Service.