LAKE TAHOE, Ca. – Search efforts are underway at the Palisades Tahoe ski resort in California after an avalanche occurred Wednesday morning as a bomb cyclone brought blizzard-like conditions to the Pacific Coast.
Palisades Tahoe officials said an avalanche happened at 9:30 a.m. above the GS gully area of KT-22.
“Our patrol and mountain operations teams are performing a search at this time,” the resort said.
The Placer County Sheriff’s Office is also responding to the search effort.
Officials with the sheriff’s office said they do not believe anyone is missing. The ski resort is checking lift tickets to confirm that no one was on the slope at the time.
DANGERS OF AVALANCHES, AND HOW TO STAY SAFE ON THE SLOPES
According to the ski resort website, Palisades Tahoe saw 3 inches of snow during the past 24 hours. On Sunday, two resort areas received 13 and 17 inches of snow over 24 hours.
The avalanche happened during a powerful winter storm, bringing blizzard conditions across the West Coast and following heavy snowfall over the weekend.
On Wednesday, the Tahoe area was under a considerable risk of avalanche, according to the Sierra Avalanche Center forecast.
Winter Storm Warnings and Winter Weather Advisories are in place for Northern California and the Sierra Nevada from Wednesday into early Thursday.
Another major winter storm is set to arrive on the West Coast from Friday into Saturday.