One person died and another was seriously injured Friday morning when an avalanche struck the Alpine Meadows ski area in Northern California, west of Lake Tahoe.
A tweet from the Placer County Sheriff's Office confirmed the slide late Friday morning, and later said they don't believe there are additional victims. Search and rescue teams were dispatched immediately after the avalanche occurred just after 10 a.m., the sheriff's office added.
At about noon local time, the sheriff's office confirmed the casualties in a separate tweet, adding that the incident occurred near the "Subway" ski run. The ski resort remained open after the avalanche, but areas around the affected ski run were closed, the sheriff's office also said.
Officials confirmed to the Associated Press that the victim was identified as Cole Comstock, 34, of Blairsden, California.
The other victim was airlifted to a nearby hospital with serious lower body injuries, the AP reported.
At least a foot of snow fell at the ski resort in the 24 hours preceding the avalanche, with areas in the higher elevations picking up as much as 2 feet. Temperatures dropped from the low 30s on Thursday to the low 20s Friday morning, and the snowpack type also fluctuated, according to weather.com meteorologist Jonathan Belles.
The Sierra Avalanche Center warned skiers of a "considerable" avalanche danger at all elevations on Friday, saying that the recent winter storm left the snowpack unstable.
"Avalanche mitigation work had been performed in the area prior to opening to skiers and riders for the day," Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows said in a statement. "The cause of the avalanche is unknown at this time pending additional investigation."
Placer County Sheriff's Sgt. Michael Powers told the AP that a ski patrol was on the scene almost immediately.
“I know at least one of the victims was partially buried by snow," Powers said. “When you get conditions like this, there is always a risk of avalanche."
The incident was the second deadly avalanche at a ski resort in less than two weeks. Three people died in an avalanche at a ski resort in Idaho on Jan. 7, and one skier survived after being buried for nearly an hour.
Seven people died in a 1982 avalanche at Alpine Meadows, according to the AP.
Alpine Meadows is located about 7 miles west of Lake Tahoe.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
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