Butterfield Canyon to remain closed through winter

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Butterfield Canyon in the Oquirrh Mountains will not reopen this fall as cleanup continues from a flood last month that left piles of debris on the road.

The road normally is closed each year on Nov. 1, said Salt Lake County Public Works Director Russ Wall. But it has been shut down since Sept. 13, when a thunderstorm dropped 3.6 inches of rain in two hours, triggering landslides in the canyon south of Kennecott's Bingham Canyon copper mine.

"So much debris from the rainstorm remains on the road that Kennecott has asked the road stay closed to allow them to keep the cleanup going," he said.

Wall added that county engineers are checking the road to ensure it was not compromised structurally by the flooding.