Video captures earlier collapse at Big Four Ice Caves

VERLOT — A video posted on You Tube (warning: explicit language) shows an ice overhang collapsing at Big Four Mountain Ice Caves.

Sara Soleimani, who shared the video with Daily Herald news partner KIRO-TV, says people were inside the cave during the collapse on Sunday, but they were not under the ice that fell.

In the video, people can be seen walking out of the cave after the collapse.

A similar event killed an 11-year-old girl in 2010. U.S. Forest Service officials have urged visitors to stay on the trail and well away from the caves. Ice and snow have been collapsing earlier than usual this year due to unusually hot weather.

The ice is formed by avalanches that roar down the mountain’s north face during winter and spring. Most years, one or more caves form as the ice melts.Many signs around the cave tells hikers to not go inside it.

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