Eight backcountry skiers have been discovered lifeless, and one stays lacking following an avalanche in California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains, officers introduced Wednesday.
Search crews on Tuesday braved “extremely harmful” situations to rescue six different skiers who have been a part of the identical guided group, authorities stated.
The tragedy is the deadliest U.S. avalanche in 45 years, second solely to an avalanche that killed 11 individuals on Washington’s Mt. Rainer in 1981.
Crews have been engaged on Wednesday to carry the stays of the eight lifeless skiers off the mountain as quickly as potential to be reunited with their households after autopsies are carried out to find out the reason for demise, authorities stated.
A rescue ski staff makes their technique to the world of an avalanche within the Fort Peak space of Truckee, Calif., February 17, 2026.
Nevada County Sheriff’s Workplace
Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon introduced the deaths at a information convention on Wednesday and stated the skier who stays lacking is presumed to be deceased.
Moon stated that among the many lifeless have been three guides from the corporate Black Mountain Guides.
Placer County Sheriff Wayne Woo — whose company participated within the search-and-rescue operation — stated that among the many lifeless was the partner of one of many members of the search staff deployed to the rescue operation.
“This incident has particularly struck our group and that staff exhausting, as one of many 9 lacking decedents is a partner of our Tahoe Nordic Search and Rescue Crew member,” Woo stated at Wednesday’s information convention.
Perilous situations close to Donner Move, the place the avalanche occurred, continued on Wednesday morning. Rescuers confronted a winter storm dumping greater than 2 inches of snow an hour within the space, grounding rescue helicopters and hampering floor crews making an attempt to succeed in the lacking skiers, in accordance with the Sierra Avalanche Heart.
Tuesday’s avalanche was reported round 11:30 a.m. PT within the Fort Peak space at an elevation of 8,200 toes within the Sierra Nevada northwest of Lake Tahoe, in accordance with the Nevada County Sheriff’s Workplace.
A bunch of 15 skiers — 9 ladies and 6 males, together with 4 guides from Blackbird Mountain Guides — encountered the avalanche, in accordance with the sheriff’s workplace.
“The group was within the strategy of returning to the trailhead on the conclusion of a three-day journey when the incident occurred,” Blackbird Mountain Guides stated in a press release.
Primarily based on the accounts of the survivors, Capt. Rusty Greene of the Nevada County Sheriff’s Division stated all 15 members of the group have been collectively when the avalanche occurred.
“It was reported by the people that survived that they have been trying to exit as a bunch, that somebody noticed the avalanche, yelled ‘avalanche’ — after which it overtook them relatively rapidly,” Greene stated.
Greene stated the our bodies of the eight skiers have been situated close to the place the survivors have been discovered. He stated survivors of the incident had situated three of the our bodies earlier than the rescue groups arrived.
Preliminarily, the slide measured a D2.5 on the Harmful Drive Scale, the avalanche model of the Enhanced Fujita Scale for ranking tornadoes, which means it was sturdy sufficient to injure, bury, or kill an individual, in accordance with the Sierra Avalanche Heart. A D3 on the dimensions is powerful sufficient to destroy a home.
Location of California avalanche
Map Tiles by Google Earth
Six individuals have been efficiently rescued Tuesday night by search-and-rescue groups with various accidents, Moon stated. The survivors, who vary in age from 30 to 55, had been taking cowl beneath a tarp after they have been discovered alive, in accordance with Moon.
Moon stated the deceased skiers have been from a number of totally different states and that their relations have been notified on Wednesday morning earlier than the information convention.
Greene stated the our bodies have been positioned in a location the place they are going to be simple to get better as soon as the climate permits.
The survivors made a 911 name utilizing an iPhone satellite tv for pc SOS message, the sheriff’s officer stated. Emergency beacons additionally helped rescuers discover the stranded skiers, the sheriff’s workplace stated.
“Attributable to excessive climate situations, it took a number of hours for rescue personnel to soundly attain the skiers and transport them to security, the place they have been medically evaluated by Truckee Fireplace,” the Nevada County Sheriff’s Workplace stated in a press release. “Two of the six skiers have been transported to a hospital for remedy.”
Motorists drive on a snow-covered highway throughout a storm on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026 in Truckee Calif. (AP Pictures/Brooke Hess-Homeier)
Brooke Hess-homeier/AP
Moon stated initially, authorities have been informed that 16 skiers have been within the group, and 10 have been lacking. She stated it was later realized that one individual determined to not make the journey on the final minute.
Rescuers confronted very troublesome situations, together with avalanche hazard themselves, in accordance with Brandon Schwartz, director of the Sierra Avalanche Heart, which forecasts avalanche situations within the space round Lake Tahoe. The world noticed 2 to three toes of latest snow within the final 36 hours and extra was nonetheless falling at 2 to 4 inches per hour, Schwartz informed ABC Information.
Moon stated two search groups comprising practically 50 rescuers approached the avalanche web site from the north and the south. Snowcats transported the groups to inside two miles of the avalanche web site, and from there, the rescuers needed to ski to the placement, arriving round 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
Moon stated two of the survivors suffered accidents that prevented them from strolling. The survivors have been taken again to the snowcats and pushed again down the mountain, Moon stated.
Two of the survivors have been initially hospitalized, however Moon stated one remained in a hospital on Wednesday.
Snow falls, Feb. 17, 2026 in Truckee Calif.
Brooke Hess-Homeier/AP
The Blackbird Mountain Guides stated the avalanche occurred close to the Frog Lake Backcountry Huts within the Fort Peak space, northwest of Truckee.
The group of skiers had been staying on the huts — which the corporate describes in on-line ads as “luxury-dormitories” — since Sunday. A 3-to-4-day keep on the huts usually prices $1,795, in accordance with the corporate’s web site.
The corporate lists stipulations for patrons, together with requiring skiers to be “adept with their backcountry touring expertise and have a strong basis of touring earlier than the journey.” Prospects are additionally required to be in good bodily form, in accordance with the corporate, “capable of hike 4-6 miles and climb 1,500-2,500 vertical toes all through the course of a day.”
The Sierra Avalanche Heart stated there was “excessive” avalanche hazard within the backcountry on Tuesday, elevating questions of why the group was within the rugged space.
Nevada County Sheriff’s Workplace officers monitor an avalanche within the Fort Peak space of Truckee, Calif., February 17, 2026.
Nevada County Sheriff’s Workplace
On Monday, Blackbird Mountain Guides posted a video on Instagram displaying what it described as “atypical layering from our regular mid season snowpack.”
“The result’s a very weak layer in lots of northerly facets, throughout varied elevation bands,” an organization worker stated within the video. “As we transfer into a big storm cycle this week, pay shut consideration to locations the place faceting has been notably sturdy — avalanches might behave abnormally and hazards might last more than regular.”
Requested by reporters why the group was within the space regardless of the harmful avalanche situations present, Moon stated, “These are the selections the information firm clearly had made.”
“We’re nonetheless in dialog with them on the choice elements that they made. However, positively, a heed for everybody,” Moon stated.
The Sierra Avalanche Heart stated quickly accumulating snowfall, weak layers of present snowpack and gale-force winds that blow and drift snow “have created harmful avalanche situations within the mountains.”
“Pure avalanches are seemingly, and human-triggered avalanches giant sufficient to bury or injure persons are very seemingly,” the middle stated.
A highway is roofed in snow throughout a storm on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026 in Truckee Calif. (AP Pictures/Brooke Hess-Homeier)
Brooke Hess-homeier/AP
The middle has issued an avalanche warning for the Central Sierra Nevada Mountains between Yuba Move on the north and Ebbetts Move on the south, together with the higher Lake Tahoe space, via Wednesday morning.
In an up to date assertion on Wednesday morning, the middle stated, “HIGH avalanche hazard continues,” and added, “journey in, close to, or beneath avalanche terrain not beneficial.”
“Elevated uncertainty exists with ongoing reactivity of those buried weak layers beneath this massive storm snow load. The potential continues for big to very giant avalanches occurring within the backcountry at the moment.”
Whiteout situations have been reported within the area the place the avalanche occurred.
The California Freeway Patrol’s Truckee workplace warned that prime winds are “creating full whiteout situations” throughout the Donner Summit.
Interstate 80 over Donner Summit was closed in each instructions on Tuesday and remained closed on Wednesday morning resulting from whiteout situations and poor visibility.
