Huge avalanche kills 2 in Montana
WHITEFISH, Mont. (AP) - January 14, 2008 Three other people were killed over the weekend in a separate
avalanche in Wyoming.
Emergency responders were alerted around noon Sunday to the
avalanche on Fiberglass Hill, a popular recreation area on the
opposite side of the mountain from the Whitefish Mountain Resort.
"When the mountain came down into this basin, it's about 25 to
30 feet deep in places with a lot of downed trees," Flathead
County Sheriff Mike Meehan said.
In addition to the two skiers found dead, witnesses were
"adamant" that they saw two other people caught up as the snow
surged down, Meehan said. But there were no reports of other people
missing.
The search for the others was halted overnight and a crew of 60
to 70 searchers returned to the site Monday morning. Deputies have
also been busy checking with the owners of cars parked overnight in
the ski area to see if anyone was unaccounted for, Meehan said.
"So far we haven't found anything," Meehan said Monday. "We
are waiting to hear of anyone else missing, or exactly what we've
got."
The area is U.S. Forest Service land, outside of resort
boundaries, said Donnie Clap, spokesman for Whitefish Mountain
Resort.
"We set off explosions to mitigate the (avalanche) risk within
our boundaries," he said. "When you ski out of bounds, you are
really taking your life in your own hands."
"We're just distraught over this tragedy," he said. "It's
been really hard on all of us."
In Wyoming, three men were killed Saturday when they were caught
in an avalanche while snowmobiling in the Star Valley south of
Jackson.
The Star Valley Search and Rescue team found the men's bodies in
the Cottonwood Lake area later Saturday. Authorities say Scott
Bennett, Alan Jensen and Kim Steed were all from the Afton area.
Avalanches have killed at least 21 people across the West since
Dec. 2, according to the National Avalanche Center. The national
annual average for avalanche deaths is about 25. Thirty-five people
were killed nationwide in avalanches in the 2001-2002 season, the
most on record, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
---
On the Net:
National Avalanche Center: http://www.avalanche.org
