1 Dead, 3 Injured In Avalanche At Palisades Tahoe

OLYMPIC VALLEY, CA — One man is dead and three skiers were injured after a major avalanche at Palisades Tahoe Wednesday triggered a multi-agency search operation at the popular ski resort, but no others were believed to be missing, according to law enforcement officials.

The resort, known as "Squaw Valley" until 2021, sits above the northwest shore of Lake Tahoe and hosted the 1960 Winter Olympics. Its sister resort, Alpine Meadows, was the site of a deadly avalanche that killed seven in 1982.

Palisades officials confirmed an avalanche on the Palisades side of the mountain occurred at 9:30 a.m. in the GS gully area to the right of the KT-22 chairlift. The resort deployed more than 100 personnel to search for anyone caught up in the avalanche, and the Placer County Sheriff's Office confirmed teams were en route to assist shortly after 11 a.m.

Gov. Gavin Newsom's office said the state was "monitoring and standing by to assist" with the avalanche effort, beginning with CalFire sending resources and personnel to the scene.

In the afternoon, the sheriff's office announced one death and a non-life-threatening injury resulted from the avalanche, with no other victims believed to be outstanding after completing a beacon search and running two probe lines. Resort officials later said two others who were caught up in the avalanche were extracted with help from other guests. All three survivors were treated for minor injuries and released.

The debris field from the avalanche was estimated to be 150 feet wide, 450 feet long and 10 feet deep.

In a news briefing, Palisade's vice president of mountain operations said ski patrol crews had conducted avalanche assessments since Sunday, completing control work, evaluating weather conditions and placing hazard markings in anticipation of the lift's opening Wednesday.

Dee Byrne, the resort's president and chief operating officer, shared her condolences and pledged a full investigation into what happened.

"This is a very sad day for my team and everyone here," Byrne said. "This is a dynamic situation, we're still undergoing an investigation [and] we have a lot to learn yet."

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Wednesday was KT-22's first day of operation this season, and visitors had lined up early to enjoy the popular "black diamond" run rated for advanced skiers and snowboarders. One witness told the Chronicle that the "entire top of the bowl broke loose" as the first group began skiing down. One person reported seeing several people vanish under the snow.

Palisades is part of a large area of the Central Sierra Nevada that was under "considerable" avalanche danger Wednesday, according to the Sierra Avalanche Center. The Associated Press reported winds were gusting above 100 mph over the ridgetops late Tuesday, and the next storm was forecast to dump more than two feet of snow at high elevations by Thursday morning.

According to the National Weather Service's Sacramento office, the resort logged 3 inches of fresh snow between Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, adding to at least 17 inches recorded over the weekend.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.