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Western Slope Mudslide Registers 2.8 On Richter Scale

COLLBRAN, Colo. (CBS4) - The massive mudslide on the Western Slope has registered a 2.8 on the Richter Scale.

The USGS in Golden released the seismic data on Wednesday.

Mudslide Collbran
An image of the mudslide (credit: CBS)

The three men were checking on problems with an irrigation ditch caused by an initial slide Sunday when a large chunk of a ridge broke off, sending soggy earth spilling like wet cement for 3 miles. The slide is about three-quarters of a mile across and several hundred feet deep at the center.

VIDEO: News Conference: Search For 3 Missing In Mudslide Called Off

The men were Clancy Nichols, 51, who also worked as a county road and bridge employee; his son Danny Nichols, 24; and Wes Hawkins, 46, who worked for the local water district.

A depression created by the slide has been filling up with spring runoff since Sunday's big slide, and it is unclear whether it will be able to contain all of it.

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