Sheriff’s Office Reports Up to 10 Backcountry Skiers Unaccounted for Following Avalanche in Sierra Nevada’s Castle Peak Area

NEVADA CITY, Calif. — Search and rescue teams are actively searching for several missing backcountry skiers following reports of an avalanche in Northern California. This incident coincides with a severe winter storm sweeping across the state, according to local authorities.

The Nevada County Sheriff’s Office was alerted around 11:30 a.m. via a 911 call reporting an avalanche with individuals trapped underneath, as stated by spokesperson Ashley Quadros.

Efforts to locate the missing skiers involve the sheriff’s office, the sheriff’s Search & Rescue team, and a unit from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. They are concentrating their search around Castle Peak, situated northwest of Lake Tahoe, Quadros confirmed.

In a statement posted on Facebook, the sheriff’s office mentioned, “It has been reported that a group of backcountry skiers was involved in the incident, with several members of the party missing at this time.”

According to a representative from the Sierra Avalanche Center, who spoke to ABC News, the group, comprising more than a dozen skiers, was returning from an overnight trip to Frog Lake Hut when the avalanche occurred.

At least 10 of them were caught in the avalanche but it’s unclear how many were fully buried, partially buried or injured.

Officials say the group reported three members were actively working to dig out victims.

California is being walloped this week by a powerful winter storm carrying treacherous thunderstorms, high winds and heavy snow in mountain areas.

According to the Sierra Avalanche Center of the Tahoe National Forest based in Truckee, the area in the Central Sierra Nevada, including the Greater Lake Tahoe region, was facing high avalanche danger in the backcountry with large slides expected to occur Tuesday and into Wednesday.

The dangerous conditions were caused by rapidly accumulating snowfall piling on already fragile snowpack layers coupled with gale-force winds.

Several ski resorts around Lake Tahoe were fully or partially closed due to the extreme weather. The resorts along highways have avalanche mitigation programs and were not expected to be at as high of a risk as the backcountry where travel in, near, or below the avalanche terrain was strongly discouraged, the center said.

“It’s particularly dangerous in the backcountry right now just because we’re at the height of the storm,” said Brandon Schwartz, Tahoe National Forest lead avalanche forecaster at the center.

Experts rely on people who witness an avalanche or its aftermath to know when and where an avalanche has occurred, Schwartz said.

Castle Peak, a 9,110-foot (2,777-meter) peak in the Donner Summit area of the Sierra Nevada, is a popular backcountry skiing destination. In the nearby town of Soda Springs, at least 30 inches (76 centimeters) of snow had fallen in the last 24 hours, according to the Soda Springs Mountain Resort.

Forecasters said the western slope of the Sierra Nevada in northern Shasta County – including portions 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.

The storm wreaked havoc on roadways spanning from Sonoma County to the Sierra Nevada. Traffic was halted temporarily in both directions on I-80 near the Nevada state line due to spinouts and crashes, the California Department of Transportation reported.

In January, an avalanche in the region buried a snowmobiler in snow and killed him, authorities said. Each winter, 25 to 30 people die in avalanches in the U.S., according to the National Avalanche Center.

This story is developing. Check back for updates.