Several Dead in Tahoe-Area Avalanche

A group of 15 backcountry skiers and snowboarders were caught in an avalanche Tuesday in the Lake Tahoe area. The bodies of eight of the nine have been found, and another member of the group is still missing, and presumed dead, according to Nevada County officials.

It is the deadliest avalanche in modern California history, The New York Timesreports.

The group of 15 was on a three-day backcountry trip in a recreational area near Castle Peak, the NYT’s Jill Cowan reported. Six other members of the group were able to contact rescuers using emergency beacons and iPhone S.O.S. features. Two of the six survivors were brought to the hospital for treatment, and one was released. The other is being treated for an injury.

“The backcountry, it’s beautiful,” Sheriff Shannan Moon of Nevada County said to the NYT. “There’s not a lot of people out there, and that’s where a lot of people like to recreate — I myself like to recreate in that area...But (to) Mother Nature, it doesn’t seem to matter.”

One of the people who died was a member of the Tahoe Nordic Search and Rescue Team, according to Placer County Sheriff Wayne Woo.

“As you can understand, this has been not only challenging for our community, it’s been a challenging rescue, but it’s also been challenging, emotionally,” he said to The New York Times.

A backcountry avalanche warning had been issued for much of the Sierra Nevada early on Tuesday because of the combination of quick-falling snow and strong winds. Three feet of snow accumulated at Donner Peak in 48 hours before the avalanche.

Before this slide, the deadliest avalanche in California’s history happened in Alpine Meadows in 1982. Seven people died near a resort. It is the deadliest avalanche in the United States since 1981, according to theAssociated Press, when 11 climbers were killed on Mount Ranier in Washington.

Our thoughts are with the families and friends of those affected by this tragedy.