The bodies of eight victims of a devastating avalanche in California’s Sierra Nevada remain unrecovered due to the extreme conditions weather conditions, according to the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office. The rescue operation will have to last until the weekend, since snowfall and gusts continue to affect the area.
The avalanche, with a volume equivalent to half a block of houses, surprised a group of nine skiers and four guides on Tuesday, during their return from a three-day trip near Castle Peak, a 2,777-meter mountain. Emergency teams managed to rescue six people alive, two of them with serious injuries, while another eight, including three guides from Blackbird Mountain Guides, were found dead nearby. One person remains missing and authorities believe he or she has probably died.
The tragedy occurs amid a succession of winter storms that have affected California from the Oregon border to the area around Palm Springs. UC Berkeley’s Central Sierra Laboratory reported an accumulation of 2.4 meters of snow in the last seven days at Donner Pass, near the site of the accident. The authorities have not yet made public the identities of the victims, although they confirmed that they come from various states in the country.
Blackbird Mountain Guides had warned days before about the arrival of a “big storm“and recommended caution through its social networks. In a statement, the company regretted the losses and defended the professionalism of its team, asking the community”refrain from speculating” as investigations continue.
Weather conditions continue to hamper recovery efforts. Interstate 80 remains closed on the border with Nevada due to traffic incidents caused by ice, while Grapevine Pass could see up to four inches of snow, and rain is expected that could cause flooding in the Los Angeles metropolitan area.
These storms have helped alleviate the drought that affected the state. The snow cover, considered a natural reservoir, will supply water for consumption and agricultural use throughout the year. According to the US Drought Monitor, the drought has virtually disappeared in California, persisting only in a small area of the northwest.
Investigations into the causes and possible responsibilities for the tragedy continue, while the region remains under alert due to the persistence of extreme weather phenomena.
(With information from AFP and Bloomberg)
