san francisco — Search and rescue crews are searching for several backcountry skiers feared missing Tuesday after a reported case Avalanche In Northern California as a Strong winter storm Authorities said she moved across the state.
The Nevada County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call at about 11:30 a.m. from someone reporting an avalanche and people buried, spokesman Ashley Quadros said.
Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff’s Search & Quadros said a rescue team and a crew from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection were combing the Castle Peak area northwest of Lake Tahoe.
“A group of backcountry skiers has been reported involved in the accident, with several members of the group missing at this time,” the sheriff’s office wrote in a Facebook post.
This week, California is being hit by a powerful winter storm bringing treacherous thunderstorms, high winds, and heavy snow in mountainous areas.
According to the Truckee-based Tahoe National Forest’s Sierra Avalanche Center, the central Sierra Nevada region, including the greater Lake Tahoe area, was facing high backcountry avalanche risk with major avalanches expected Tuesday and Wednesday.
The dangerous conditions were caused by rapidly accumulating snowfall on layers of already fragile snow coupled with high winds.
Many ski resorts around Lake Tahoe have been completely or partially closed due to the severe weather. The center said resorts along highways had avalanche mitigation programs and were not expected to be at as high a risk as remote areas where travel in, near or below avalanche terrain was strongly discouraged.
“It’s especially dangerous in the backcountry right now just because we’re at the height of the storm,” said Brandon Schwartz, the center’s chief meteorologist for the Tahoe National Forest.
Experts rely on people who witnessed an avalanche or its aftermath to figure out when and where an avalanche occurred, Schwartz said.
Castle Peak, a 9,110-foot (2,777 m) peak in the Donner Summit region of the Sierra Nevada, is a popular backcountry skiing destination. In the nearby town of Soda Springs, at least 30 inches (76 cm) of snow fell in the past 24 hours, according to Soda Springs Mountain Resort.
The western slope of the Sierra Nevada in northern Shasta County — including parts of Interstate 5 — and parts of the state’s Pacific Coast Range could see up to 8 feet (2.4 meters) of snow before the storm moves through late Wednesday, forecasters said.
The storm wreaked havoc on roads stretching from Sonoma County to the Sierra Nevada. The California Department of Transportation reported that traffic was temporarily halted in both directions on I-80 near the Nevada state line due to detours and crashes.
In January, A Avalanche In the area buried A Snowmobile Authorities said snow killed him. Each winter, 25 to 30 people die in avalanches in the United States, according to the National Avalanche Center.
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Watson reported from San Diego.