Shell shocked: Errant avalanche bomb rips Pleasant Grove home
A large mirror has what looks like bullet holes in the glass.
It looks like it was bombed because it was.
A 105mm howitzer shell fired near Sundance in Provo Canyon overshot its mark and landed with a bang in the Conners' back yard. The boom was heard over several blocks.
Debris from the 3 p.m. explosion Wednesday also damaged a car across the street from the Connors' home and two other houses in the vicinity of 1600 East and 500 South on the Pleasant Grove bench.
It was a miracle no one was killed or injured, said Scott Connors.
"If the school bus had just been a minute or two earlier, kids would have been walking in the street where the shrapnel went across," Connors said.
The Connors' 3-year-old son was lying on the family room floor watching television when the mortar exploded.
If he had raised his head or if he'd been standing, he would have been in the path of several bits of deadly flying shrapnel.
As it was, he was covered in broken glass and badly frightened, say his parents.
Lori Connors chokes up when she thinks about it.
"Every time I walk downstairs, I think, "What if?' " she said.
"We figure it was a minor miracle. No. It wasn't minor," said Scott Connors.
Utah Department of Transportation officials, who have taken responsibility for the errant mortar, say the event is a rarity, even though they set off 560 rounds of explosive material every year in an attempt to control avalanche danger in the Provo, American Fork, Big and Little Cottonwood canyons.
"Of the tens of thousands of blasts done in Utah, there are extremely few incidents like this," said Liam Fitzgerald, supervisor for the Avalanche Safety Program in UDOT's Region 2.
"This one was recorded as a dud because the crew did not see or hear an explosion," Fitzgerald said.
Fitzgerald said the cannon was fired from a fixed launch site on the north side of Provo Canyon a spot above Sundance that's been used many times before.
"Most of our firing is done when we cannot see the target," he said. "That's when we have avalanches, when it's storming."
The blast was at least 3 miles off course. Avalanche-control operations are being temporarily suspended in Provo Canyon until officials can determine how the accident happened.
Recent comments
WOW THAT AWAESOME BUT I WOULDN'T WANT THAT BOMB IN MY BACKYARD :)...
Anonymous | Feb. 26, 2009 at 2:51 p.m.
- Germans win men's beach volleyball 12:13 p.m.
- Inmate stabbed in head during brawl 11:56 a.m.
- Cards' Pujols leads All-Star voting 11:52 a.m.
- Federer beats Roddick 11:51 a.m.
- Military ordered to turn back jet 11:44 a.m.
- US not stand in Israel's way on Iran 11:39 a.m.
- G-8 greeted skeptically by some 11:38 a.m.
- Deal on arms control expected 11:36 a.m.
- Yankees' Wang goes on DL 11:36 a.m.
- Swimmer Lezak skips Worlds 11:35 a.m.
- Stadium of Fire lights up the 4th
- Millsap not franchise player
- Utahn reunites with officer
- Can Jazz escape luxury-tax mess?
- The BCS sure won't fix itself
- Interest in Millsap dwindling?
- Jazz talked Kirilenko for McGrady
- Obama deprives Iran of scapegoat
- NKorea fires 7 missiles defying U.S.
- 'Tea party' protesters unhappy
- Boozer not opting out of contract
180 - Palin resigning as governor
101 - Lack of Obama photos concerning
99 - Don't listen to marriage cynics
93 - Utah leaner in too-fat country
91 - Palin's and Romney's roles in 2012?
88 - Editorial: A sad day for Utah
86 - Jazz plan to re-sign Millsap
81 - Jazz talked Kirilenko for McGrady
73 - Hatch calls BCS 'biased' in SI article
69
The night was balmy though buggy at SPOC, the Stansbury Park Observatory...
I don't think Palin can win on the national scene, but Mitt has got a strong...
Last night was the first time I went to the Stadium of Fire and I failed to...
This trial was supposed to have taken place months ago, but no news source...
Joe: The last thing we need to worry about is human extinction. Why don't...
Kramer never got involved til after The Big 10 commissiner had already called...
"Did you guys hear something? Me neither. HEY! Look at that elephant climbing...
you must not only be a "sloanaholic" but someone that works in the front...
To "Loss OF FREEDOM" Whe you say "What we get with big government -- high...
Cleaning up after 8 years of Republican mess? Hmmm, let's see - the...
the title could use some sense review. Instead of "beat people up", why not...



