ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Two men were killed during an avalanche in a remote area near Longs Pass in Washington‘s Cascade Mountains last Friday.
Kittitas County Sheriff’s officials said that four backcountry travelers were caught in an avalanche around 4:00 p.m. local time.
Two men were killed during an avalanche in a remote area near Longs Pass in Washington’s Cascade Mountains last Friday. Kittitas County Sheriff’s officials said that four backcountry travelers were caught in an avalanche around 4:00 p.m. local time.
(Kittitas County Sheriff/Facebook / FOX Weather)
The two survivors were able to send a distress signal using a satellite radio and were rescued that evening, according to the office.
Recovery teams airlifted the bodies of the victims Saturday.
AVALANCHE EVACUATIONS ADVISED FOR JUNEAU RESIDENTS AS ATMOSPHERIC RIVER SLAMS ALASKA
The Sheriff’s Office said the party was using two snowmobiles to travel.
An exact cause of the avalanche has not been released.
Avalanches are triggering evacuation advisories in areas of Alaska as an atmospheric river is passing through the area, triggering flooding and life-threatening conditions in the Alaskan Panhandle.
Parts of the Pacific Northwest were under a High Avalanche Risk last week after recent atmospheric rivers dropped feet of snow across the Cascades.
FEET OF SNOWFALL POSSIBLE IN THE CASCADES AS STORMS AND COLDER AIR IMPACT THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST
A weaker atmospheric river will persist through Tuesday morning that could bring snow to higher elevations and rain to the foothills of the Cascades and Olympic Mountains.
An avalanche threat remains for part of the Cascades through Monday.
