The avalanche struck a guided skiing group in a popular California backcountry destination, officials said. Six skiers have been rescued.
Here’s the latest.
Rescuers in California were conducting a desperate search Wednesday for nine backcountry skiers who remained missing almost a day after an avalanche near Lake Tahoe. If they are not found alive, the avalanche would be one of the deadliest in the United States in decades.
The skiers, part of a group of 15 that included four guides, were on a three-day expedition near Castle Peak, a popular skiing area in the Sierra Nevada. Six members of the group were able to shelter under a tarp for about 12 hours before rescuers could reach them.
Here’s what to know:
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The expedition: The skiers had been staying at the Frog Lake huts, near Truckee, Calif., according to a statement from Blackbird Mountain Guides, the company running the tour. The group was returning to the trailhead at the end of the trip on Tuesday when the avalanche struck near the huts, the statement said.
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The rescue: Six skiers were able to contact rescue teams on Tuesday afternoon, officials said, and were reached shortly before midnight. Two of the six were taken to a hospital for treatment, officials said.
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The warnings: A backcountry avalanche warning had been issued for a broad stretch of the Sierra Nevada early Tuesday because of a combination of rapid snowfall and strong winds. Nearly three feet of snow had accumulated at Donner Peak, near Castle Peak, in the 48 hours leading into Tuesday morning.
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The conditions: Forecasters warned that heavy, disruptive snowfall would continue through Thursday across the northern Sierra Nevada, potentially impeding rescue efforts.
Despite calmer weather around Lake Tahoe on Wednesday, the avalanche risk remains high. An avalanche warning issued by the Sierra Avalanche Center on Tuesday has been extended through Thursday morning, and more snowfall is expected: up to 18 inches for ridge tops and between two to six inches at lake level.
Colin McKeller, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Reno, Nev., said weather conditions were calmer in the Lake Tahoe region on Wednesday, with only light snowfall expected. He added that winds had “rapidly decreased” in strength, with gusts reaching around 25 miles an hour on Wednesday morning.
Winter Storms Bring Heavy Snow and Rain to California
Rescuers pulled six survivors late Tuesday from the site of an avalanche near Lake Tahoe as the search continues for nine others from the same backcountry skiing group who remained missing, the authorities said.
Ashley Quadros, a spokeswoman for the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office, confirmed the rescue in a brief phone interview on Tuesday night. The six survivors were being evaluated by medical teams after being pulled out of the avalanche zone, she added. Earlier, the sheriff’s office said that the survivors were using a tarp as a makeshift shelter before the rescue.
Two of the rescued skiers were taken to a hospital for treatment, the sheriff’s office said in a statement. Officials said the total number of people on the trip had been revised to 15, amending an earlier count of 16.
The group, which included four guides for a tour company and 11 clients, became trapped after an avalanche struck around 11:30 a.m. local time near Castle Peak in conditions that some experts said were among the worst the area had experienced in years.
The survivors used emergency beacons to communicate with the authorities, Capt. Russell Greene of the Nevada County, Calif., Sheriff’s Office told the news station KCRA3 on Tuesday evening.
The group had been staying at the Frog Lake huts in the area since Sunday, according to a statement from Blackbird Mountain Guides, the company responsible for the tour group. The group was returning to the trailhead for the conclusion of the trip, according to the statement.
Blackbird Mountain Guides did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday evening.
Emergency responders traveling on skis and special snow vehicles called snowcats were facing dark conditions, even more snow and the risk of additional avalanches in their efforts to reach the area. “It’s just going to be a slow, tedious process,” Captain Greene said.
If the remaining skiers are not found alive, the episode would rank among the deadliest avalanches in the United States in decades, according to data compiled by the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.
Ryan Ochoa, a spokesman for the Truckee Fire Protection District, said rescuers from the department had tried to make it to the skiers soon after the initial call for help late Tuesday morning but could not reach them “way out in the wilderness.”
The snowy conditions had hampered any efforts to use a helicopter to rescue the stranded skiers, Mr. Ochoa said.
Location beacons are commonly used by skiers as a safety tactic, Mr. Ochoa said. He described a device about the size of an iPhone that is worn under a ski jacket. When users go skiing they can set it to track them and notify emergency services if they are in an avalanche, he said.
Avalanche warnings were in effect for a vast stretch of the mountain ranges, and more snow was expected that could hamper further rescue efforts.
“Weather conditions remain highly dangerous,” the sheriff’s office said, with large avalanches expected across backcountry terrain into at least Wednesday morning.
Intense snowfall, high winds and low visibility were conspiring to create what scientists at the Central Sierra Snow Lab at the University of California, Berkeley, said appeared to be the worst conditions the mountain ranges have experienced in years. Sections of two major highways in the region were shuttered, and ski resorts, citing the treacherous conditions, were closed.
As the storm moved in on Monday, experts with the Sierra Avalanche Center had tested the snow conditions around the Castle Peak area and found that large and dangerous avalanches would be possible on Tuesday. They issued warnings on Tuesday morning urging people to stay away.
A long dry spell in the state created a weak layer of snow that was then buried by fresh snow last week. That combination of conditions has contributed to deadly avalanches in this area in the past, the forecasters wrote.
High winds were blowing so much snow onto the road near Donner that visibility was near zero, the California Highway Patrol said in a social media post. “This isn’t inconvenient weather,” the agency said. “This is unsafe travel.”
Nationwide, an average of 27 people have died in avalanches annually over the last 10 winters, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. So far this season, there have been six reported deaths.
Last month, a 42-year-old snowmobiler died after being buried by an avalanche in the Castle Peak area. And in December, an avalanche in Mammoth Mountain killed a 30-year-old ski patroller and left his co-worker injured.
By Tuesday morning, more than 28 inches of snow had fallen in the central Sierra, and another two to three feet was expected by Wednesday night, according to the Central Sierra Snow Lab.
The avalanche hit as a conveyor belt of storms brought high winds, dangerous surf and rain to other parts of California. The first bout of rain on Monday flooded several businesses in central Los Angeles, their owners told the news station ABC7, while severe winds sent a large tree crashing into a home farther east in Alhambra.
More snow is expected this week, and forecasters said it could fall at a rate of one to two inches per hour in many areas, with heavier bursts possible in parts of the central and southern Sierra Nevada.
Strong winds are expected to be an added hazard. Forecasters said gusts over 100 miles an hour were expected along ridge tops, and valleys could experience gusts of up to 45 m.p.h. Combined with heavy snowfall, near-zero visibility is expected at times, especially in the Sierra Nevada.
