Sierra avalanche concerns rise after back-to-back storms
SACRAMENTO — Northern California will have a bit of a break after the recent back-to-back storms, but a new danger looms: avalanches.
Avalanche concerns come after one was reported overnight at Tamarack Peak, which is a really popular spot for backcountry skiers. Experts say most avalanches happen during or shortly after storms, and that means all eyes are on the steep terrain and in those higher elevations.
Sliding, tumbling and flowing. That describes the ominous look at an overnight avalanche in the Sierra after a one-two punch from Mother Nature left behind some unstable snowpack.
"What's a little bit unique about this one is that the snow that was already on the ground, the oldest snow in our snowpack, is really weak. So we're essentially building, you know, a high-rise apartment on a really terrible foundation," said David Reichel, the executive director for the Sierra Avalanche Center (SAC).
Reichel said this most recent snowslide is considered a "slab avalanche," which accounts for nearly all avalanche deaths in North America.
"Most avalanche accidents happen on days like today," he said.
The SAC categorizes the threat with its own danger scale: green is low and red is high. Right now, the Sierra is in the middle — orange — which represents a considerable danger.
"We have two trouble spots that we monitor and that's Highway 50 over Echo Summit and then Highway 89 over Emerald Bay," said Steve Nelson with Caltrans District 3.
Caltrans said its 20-person avalanche control team has been working nonstop, especially along Highway 50 where three controlled avalanches were recently needed.
"We now have 14 cannons up on above Highway 50 at about 8,000 feet, and we can light those off remotely, trigger a slide and clean it up and get the highway back open in one hour versus four hours if we didn't do that," Nelson said.
Until conditions level out, backcountry skiers and snowmobilers are being told to forgo any high-elevation adventures and focus on safer ways to enjoy the freshly fallen powder.
Caltrans said more controlled avalanches could be needed over the next few days as the snow melts.
This week is also Tahoe Backcountry Safety Awareness Week.