Avalanche at Lake Tahoe Ski Resort prompts emergency response

An avalanche closed a popular ski resort in California’s Lake Tahoe, authorities said Wednesday, but it was not immediately clear if there were any injuries or if any people were missing.

“Our patrol and mountain operations teams are currently conducting a search,” Palisades Tahoe, the ski area, said in a statement. “Both sides of our mountain will be closed that day.”

The avalanche occurred at the resort around 9:30 am said in a social media post. Placer County Sheriff’s Office said it responded but did not immediately provide additional details.

According to the Sierra Avalanche Center, there was a risk of an avalanche on Wednesday and Thursday as a large storm moved through the region.

The resort, in California’s Olympic Valley, opened in 1949 and hosted the 1960 Winter Olympics. According to its website, it is the largest ski area in the snow-packed Lake Tahoe region, with 6,000 acres of skiable space spread across two mountains. On average, about 400 centimeters of snow falls annually.

The resort adopted its current name in 2021 after acknowledging that its previous name, Squaw Valley, contained a “racist and sexist slur” whose use is “contrary to our company values.”

This is a development story.