JAKARTA - The SAR team admitted that they had encountered obstacles in the search operation for the six ski players who were trapped in a steep mountain avalanche in Northern California buried in thick snow.
AP reported Wednesday, February 18, the condition of the area hit by the snowstorm became an obstacle after the report regarding this incident was received at 11.30 on Tuesday local time.
"They're doing the best they can. They've taken refuge in an area, they've made makeshift shelters with tarps and are doing everything they can to survive and wait for rescue," Nevada County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Ashley Quadros told television station KCRA-TV.
Quadros said the six skiers reported in a safe condition several hours after they were hit by an avalanche around Frog Lake in the Castle Peak area, northwest of Lake Tahoe. They reported it via an emergency signal transmitter.
Quadros said rescue teams were heading to the survivors with caution due to the danger of more severe subsequent avalanches.
"We've brought snowmobiles. We have snowmobiles that are ready to go. We have some people using skis. We have some different ways people are trying to get there," he said.
"This will be a slow and exhausting process," Quadros continued.
In addition to the victims who reported being safe, this incident also caused 10 people to be declared missing.
The company leading the skiing tour of the victims, Blackbird Mountain Guides, said in a statement on its website that it was coordinating with authorities in the rescue operation. It said there were 12 clients and four guides in the group.
Mountains in California are being hit by a fierce winter storm this week that is followed by lightning storms, strong winds, and heavy snow.
"Right now, remote areas are very dangerous because the storm is peaking," said Tahoe National Forest avalanche forecaster at the Sierra Avalanche Center based in Truckee, Brandon Schwartz.
The Sierra Avalanche Center issued a snow avalanche warning for the Central Sierra Nevada, including the Lake Tahoe area, starting at 5 a.m. local time on Tuesday, with large avalanches expected to occur until today, Wednesday, February 18.
The dangerous condition is caused by the rapid accumulation of snow that builds up on top of the fragile snow layer coupled with strong winds.
Several ski resorts around Lake Tahoe decided to close their operations due to extreme weather. Resorts along the highway chose to open part of their operations because they were bound by disaster mitigation programs and their areas were considered not high-risk compared to remote areas where walking, or under snow avalanches, is strongly discouraged.
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