Avalanche thunders into a Tahoe resort; one dead, one injured

Author: CBS San Francisco
Published:
(Credit: sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com )

An avalanche slammed into the Alpine Meadows ski area Friday, killing at least one person and seriously injuring a second, authorities said.

The Placer County Sheriff’s Department tweeted at 11:20 a.m. that — “Placer County Sheriff’s deputies are currently responding to an avalanche that occurred at Alpine Meadows this morning. Search and Rescue is responding as well, as there are several unaccounted victims.”

Deputies said the emergency crews that had responded to the scene of the avalanche near the Subway Ski Run have recovered the body of one victim and a second person was taken to the hospital with serious injuries. Rescue teams were continuing to search for additional victims.

LIVE CAMERA: Lake Tahoe webcam from Squa and Alpine

Earlier Friday morning Squaw Alpine Mountain official tweeted they were conducting avalanche control operations in the area.

A fierce winter storm slammed into the Tahoe area on Thursday, dumping as much as 25 inches of snow on the Squaw Valley area and buffeted it with strong winds.

The National Weather Service issued a Winter Storm Warning and an Avalanche Watch for the Lake Tahoe area beginning at 7 a.m. Thursday.

“Periods of high avalanche danger may occur from Thursday morning through Friday morning,” the weather service warned. “Forecast heavy snow and high wind may result in widespread avalanche activity in the mountains.”

The storm also closed all schools in the Tahoe Truckee Unified School District on Thursday, as well as the schools in the Incline Village area of the Washoe County School District.

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