It is the most devastating avalanche accident in the US state of California in more than 40 years: eight people were found dead after an avalanche near Castle Peak in the Tahoe National Forest.
02/19/2026, 04:4402/19/2026, 04:44
Another is still missing and is presumed dead due to the force of the fall and the weather, Sheriff Shannan Moon said. Six people survived.
There is currently an enormous amount of fresh snow in parts of California.Image: keystone
At around 11:30 a.m. (local time) on Tuesday, the emergency call center received an automatic emergency signal – triggered both by avalanche victim search devices and via a satellite SOS function. The group – four mountain guides and eleven guests – had been on the way back from a three-day guided open-country ski tour to the Frog Lake huts when a snow slab came loose – a heavy load of new snow on an unstable layer of snow.
According to operations manager Captain Russell Greene, the survivors reported that someone else said “Avalanche!” shouted, then the group was quickly captured. The avalanche was about as long as a football field – a good 100 meters. There were nine women and six men in the group.
Survivors find shelter in the forest
More than 50 specially trained personnel, including many volunteers, worked their way into the terrain through storms, blowing snow and at times poor visibility. A snow groomer only came within three kilometers of the accident site. From there the emergency services had to continue on skis. It wasn’t until around 5:30 p.m. that the first team reached the survivors.
The sheriff’s office had been in contact with them through an emergency satellite messaging service through which they could send text messages. The six had sought safety in a forest. According to the operations management, they suffered from injuries and medical problems, and two of them were no longer able to walk. They had already identified three dead people in the avalanche field while they were waiting for help.
Of the six rescued, one is a mountain guide. The five other survivors are guests, three men and two women. Two injured people were taken to hospital; The injuries were not life-threatening, it was said.
Rescue difficult due to danger of avalanches
The dead have not yet been rescued – the terrain is steep, the risk of further avalanches is high and the operation is difficult for the rescue workers, it was said. The authorities warned against further trips into the mountains. Almost a meter more snow has now fallen, so the risk of avalanches remains high. “Nature shows no consideration – no matter how experienced or well-prepared you are,” said Sheriff Moon.
The Tahoe National Forest is located in California on the border with the US state of Nevada and is also home to Lake Tahoe, which is also popular with tourists. The avalanche occurred northwest of the lake.
The region has experienced serious avalanches in the past – although the last event of this magnitude was decades ago: in March 1982, seven people died in an avalanche accident at an alpine ski resort in the Lake Tahoe area; one woman survived after being buried under snow for five days. (sda/dpa)