Red rocks in Utah park stained blue from powder cannon blast, officials say. ‘So lame’
Iconic red rocks in a Utah park were stained blue after someone set off a powder canon, officials said.
Snow Canyon State Park posted photos comparing the Petrified Dunes before and after the powder tainted the ancient formations and shared a ditty about the litter.
“Our rocks are red, but somehow now blue: Powder canons are litter, does that surprise you?” the park said on Instagram. “The other day, there was a report of ‘blue’ Petrified Dunes. Somebody had set off a blue powder cannon which stained our renowned red rocks.”
Despite the carefree-sounding ditty, park officials stressed the seriousness of the incident and how difficult it was to restore the delicate rocks to their previous condition.
“This incident took rangers 4.5 hours to clean up and required hauling more than 24 gallons of water — that’s nearly 200 pounds and the back and forth trips added up to nearly three miles of hiking,” officials said. “Here are the before and after pictures of the affected area. Which would you prefer to see when visiting the park?”
“Toss” and “release” materials such as flower petals, confetti and powder or smoke cannons are not allowed in the park for this very reason, officials said.
“Otherwise, please remember to Leave No Trace and clean up after yourselves when recreating or doing photoshoots,” officials said. “Help us keep the park clean and beautiful for you and future generations.”
While park officials didn’t say what the powder cannon was used for, some were quick to speculate it seemed like a gender reveal in the comments. Gender reveal ceremonies have damaged other national parks, McClatchy News previously reported.
“Ban gender reveals 2025, new statewide policy I’m proposing as of today,” someone said.
“Wow. So lame,” another person said.
