A massive mudslide has closed the Denali Park Road near milepost 67 to the west of the Eielson Visitor Center/NPS, James Long

A mudslide roughly 100 feet wide and 10 feet deep has forced closure of the Denali Park Road just west of the Eielson Visitor Center in Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska and stranded some guests and workers at private lodges in Kantishna.

Park officials said Sunday that the slide swept across the park road at milepost 67. They said the slide came down Saturday morning.

"The road is completely impassable at this time but the park’s road crew members have been working around the clock to clear the debris and hope to have at least one lane of travel open soon," a park release said. "The park road has experienced several landslides and debris flows this summer due to record wet conditions. However, this event is by far the largest and most challenging to resolve."

Weather data, collected from a RAWS weather station in the area, shows that Eielson Visitor Center had received more than 6 inches of rain in the past week. The day before the event the area received an additional 1.69 inches.

"The mudslide can be attributed to sustained saturation of soils, the fine-grain nature of the ancient volcanic ash found in the area, and slope topography," park officials said. "Although the area has been known to deposit small amounts of material before, no one on the park staff is aware of a preceding event of this size."

Those guests, employees, and park staff marooned at the western end of the park road are all safe and accounted for, the park reported.

"Some guests have chosen to be flown out by a private air taxi that operates in the area. Phone communications are limited to the lodges, and there is no cell phone coverage in the area, therefore anyone expecting to hear from parties staying in the Wonder Lake or Kantishna areas may not get word until traffic resumes," it added. "Flooding has not been reported in the vicinity, and the Kantishna airstrip remains open."

According to Dave Schirokauer, the park's resources and science team leader, events such as these could become more common.

“Although no single event can be attributable to climate change, events such as these are consistent with current modeling for Interior Alaska where there is an expectation of increased precipitation throughout the region," he said.