Officials work to lower risk of deadly slides to recover bodies of
California avalanche victims
[February 21, 2026]
By GODOFREDO VASQUEZ, JULIE WATSON and JANIE HAR
TRUCKEE, Calif. (AP) — Officials worked to lower the risks of more
deadly slides Friday in the area where an avalanche struck in
California’s Sierra Nevada so crews could safely recover the bodies of
the people killed.
Rescue crews loaded up a snow vehicle with skis and other supplies and
headed toward the area near Castle Peak, northwest of Lake Tahoe, while
helicopters circled overhead. Avalanche mitigation work is designed to
intentionally release unstable snowpack to reduce the risk when rescue
crews go in.
The Nevada County Sheriff’s office previously said the mitigation work
would include controlled explosions, but later said Friday’s efforts
only involved using water to break up snow. The work was done in
partnership with Pacific Gas & Electric.
Brutal weather and the threat of more avalanches have kept crews from
safely recovering the bodies of the eight people killed and another
still missing from Tuesday’s avalanche, which was roughly the size of a
football field.
Authorities are investigating the avalanche, including whether criminal
negligence played a role in the tragedy, a sheriff’s office leading one
of several investigations said Friday.
Why the tour company that organized the backcountry ski trip didn't
cancel in the face of a powerful storm and what their guides knew as the
weather worsened are the questions being considered.
Both the Nevada County Sheriff’s office and a state agency that
regulates workplace safety have opened investigations. Ashley Quadros, a
spokesperson with the sheriff's office, declined on Friday to share more
information, saying it is an open investigation.
Six of the people who died were part of a close-knit group of friends
who were experienced backcountry skiers and knew how to navigate the
alpine wilderness, their families said. The three others who are dead or
presumed dead were guides.
“We are devastated beyond words,” the families said in a statement
released Thursday through a spokesperson. The women were mothers, wives
and friends who “connected through the love of the outdoors,” they said,
and were carrying avalanche safety equipment and prepared for
backcountry travel.
Victims were loved by their neighbors
The six were identified as Carrie Atkin, Liz Clabaugh, Danielle Keatley,
Kate Morse, Caroline Sekar and Kate Vitt, and they lived in the San
Francisco Bay Area, in Idaho and in the Lake Tahoe area. The families
asked for privacy while they grieve.
Just north of San Francisco, where Keatley lived with her family in the
city of Larkspur, resident Rob Bramble was shocked to learn that the
friendly woman he would say hello to in passing was among the victims.
“She was just a great mom. I’d always see her with the kids, picking
them up, just seemed like a great mom and a great family,” said Bramble,
whose daughter babysat for the family a few times.
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This undated photo courtesy of Kiren Sekar shows Caroline Sekar,
right, a victim of the deadly avalanche in California’s Sierra
Nevada on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (JVP Communications/Courtesy of
Kiren Sekar via AP)
Keatley and her husband owned a wine business and often shared their
namesake wines at community events, Larkspur Mayor Stephanie Andre
said.
“She was warm, kind and exuded a special quality that drew people to
her,” Andre said in a statement.
Morse also lived with her husband and three children north of San
Francisco, and worked in the biotech industry, according to her
LinkedIn profile. Vitt previously worked at SiriusXM and Pandora,
according to her online profile, and lived north of the city with
her two sons and husband.
Atkin was a former corporate executive who lived in Lake Tahoe with
her husband and two children, according to her leadership coaching
website. She's a talented student who could “run like the wind” and
made it to state finals for hurdling two years in a row, recalled
Jerome Bearden, her high school hurdling coach. She later had a
track and field scholarship to Harvard.
“Everybody liked Carrie,” said Bearden, who heard about her death
from a former student on Friday. “She was a good person.”
Sekar and Clabaugh were sisters, their brother, McAlister Clabaugh,
told The New York Times. Sekar was a mother of two who lived in San
Francisco.
Liz Clabaugh was a nurse who oversaw a new graduate nursing
residency program at St. Luke’s Health System in Boise, Idaho. She
was also a mom and ran a Facebook page featuring encouragement and
advice for new nurses. Photos showed that her family were frequent
adventurers outdoors.
Clabaugh also had served as a health volunteer in Zambia with the
Peace Corps, according to a Facebook page for Peace Corps alumni.
The names of the other victims have not been released.
The 15 skiers began their three-day trip Sunday, just as warnings
about the storm were intensifying. By early Tuesday, officials
cautioned that avalanches were expected.
Avalanche safety experts say it is not uncommon for backcountry
skiers to go out when there is an avalanche watch or even a warning.
Blackbird Mountain Guides, which was leading the expedition, said
the guides who were on the trek were trained or certified in
backcountry skiing and were instructors with the American Institute
for Avalanche Research and Education.
“We don’t have all the answers yet, and it may be some time before
we do,” founder Zeb Blais said in a statement. “In the meantime,
please keep those impacted in your hearts.”
The slide was the deadliest in the U.S. since 1981, when 11 climbers
were killed on Mount Rainier in Washington state.
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