History Highlight
From December 1948 to January 1949, 17 catastrophic snowstorms hit the intermountain west, with more than 40” of snow falling in January alone. Sustained wind speeds in excess of 55 mph were observed, creating snow drifts more than 30’ tall, burying cars, roads, train tracks and even houses. The winter was categorized as the worst in 60 years, since the “Great White Ruin” in 1889. Due to the conditions, cattle were starving and freezing to death because ranchers had no way of getting feed to their animals. The call to the government for aid resulted in President Truman allocating $750,000 to support “Operation Haylift”, the plan to drop hay to stranded livestock across the intermountain west. Utah’s herds were allocated $250,000 and the rest went to affected neighboring states. “Operation Haylift” tasked the Utah Air National Guard C-47 aircraft to drop hay when herds were inaccessible while Utah Army National Guard Engineers used bulldozers, trucks and heavy equipment to clear roads and deliver food to stranded people and herds. Some herds were so remote that the ranchers were asked to accompany the aircraft to show the aircrew where to drop. Deseret News Reporter William B. Smart was able to ride along with the Utah Air National Guard crews and said, “We wore harnesses strapped to the plane -- in case the plane hit an air bump. We simply pushed the bales out that side door. But it was as cold a thing to do as you can imagine. Think of the wind chill at that speed! The hay drops were accurate -- sometimes too accurate. A rancher who asked that a bale be dropped close to his house was astounded to see it crash through the roof of his front porch!”
UTNG totals used during “Operation Haylift”
Vehicles and equip used – 35
Miles of highway opened – 21,395.
Number of Flights – 27
Air Miles Flown – 9,920
Grain Delivered by Air – 5 Tons
Hay Delivered by Air – 59 Tons
Total Man-Hours – 4,523