Searches underway following avalanche at California ski resort near Lake Tahoe

Search teams have been deployed following an avalanche at a California ski resort near Lake Tahoe

California Avalanche (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Search teams were deployed following an avalanche Wednesday at a California ski resort near Lake Tahoe, officials said.

The avalanche occurred around 9:30 a.m. at Palisades Tahoe, the resort said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter.

“Our Patrol and mountain operations teams are performing a search at this time,” the resort said.

Sgt. David Smith, a spokesperson for the Placer County sheriff, told The Associated Press there are “no confirmed reports” of people trapped but search teams are assessing the area.

The mountain was closed for the day.

Formerly known as Squaw Valley, Palisades is on the western side of Lake Tahoe, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) from Reno, Nevada. The resort was host site for the 1960 winter Olympics.

Winds gusted in excess of 100 mph (160 kph) over ridgetops around Lake Tahoe late Tuesday ahead of a powerful storm expected to bring as much as 2 feet (61 cm) of snow to the highest elevations by early Thursday. The National Weather Service in Reno said 2 inches (5 centimeters) could fall per hour Wednesday around the lake.

A 110 mph (177 kph) gust was recorded Tuesday afternoon at the summit of Alpine Meadows, the neighboring sister resort of Palisades south of Truckee, California, the service said.