All 9 avalanche victims recovered from California’s Sierra Nevada, sheriff says

All nine avalanche victims have been recovered from California’s Sierra Nevada, Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon said Saturday at a news conference.

The bodies were recovered after a Black Hawk helicopter on Saturday flew to the snowy, mountainous region where a fatal avalanche struck this week. Eight of the victims were found on Tuesday, but brutal weather and the threat of more avalanches had kept crews from safely recovering the bodies from the avalanche, which was roughly the size of a football field.

Search crews eventually were able to recover five of the bodies on Friday night, and the remaining four were recovered Saturday morning, the sheriff said.

Among those who died were six women who were close friends and experienced skiers, along with three professional guides. Six others on the trip survived the avalanche, the deadliest in the U.S. since 1981.

Sheriff Moon formally identified the victims Saturday as Andrew Alissandratos, 34, of Verdi, Nevada; Nicole Choo, 42, of South Lake Tahoe; and Michael Henry, 30, of Soda Springs, California. Those three were Blackbird Mountain guides. 

The six others killed were identified as Carrie Atkin, 46, of Soda Springs, California; Lizabeth Clabaugh, 52, of Boise, Idaho; Danielle Keatley, 44, of Soda Springs and Larkspur, California; Kate Morse, 45, of Soda Springs and Tiburon, California; Caroline Sekar, 45, of Soda Springs and San Francisco, California; and Katherine Vitt, 43, of Greenbrae, California.

“There are no words that truly capture the significance of this loss and our hearts mourn alongside the families of those affected by this catastrophic event,” Moon said as she identified the victims. “The weight of this event is felt across many families, friends, and colleagues, and we stand together with them during this difficult time.”

A temporary flight restriction over the site of the avalanche, which bars drones and all other unauthorized aircraft from flying in the area, was extended to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Officials said on Friday that they were using water to break up the snow in the area as avalanche mitigation work, a technique that is designed to intentionally release unstable snowpack to reduce the risk when rescue crews go in.

The mitigation and search efforts have included California Highway Patrol air operations, Nevada County Sheriff’s search and rescue, Tahoe Nordic search and rescue, the utility company Pacific Gas & Electric, the Sierra avalanche center and others.