Updated 8:13 p.m.
One person was killed and another injured in an avalanche at a Tahoe ski resort Wednesday, according to the Placer County Sheriff’s Office.
According to the resort, at 9:30 a.m. an avalanche struck on the Palisades side of the mountain — specifically on steep slopes under the KT-22 lift, which serves “black diamond” runs for skilled skiers and snowboarders.
Multiple agencies responded on a search and rescue operation. A male skier was injured and later pronounced dead by Tahoe Forest Hospital, Palisades officials said in a release. The sheriff's office later identified the man as 66-year-old Kenneth Kidd, a resident of both Point Reyes and the Truckee-Tahoe area.
One other person was injured, and two were caught in the slide.
According to the sheriff’s office, no other missing persons have been reported, and the mountain remained closed for the rest of the day. The avalanche debris field is described as approximately 150 feet wide, 450 feet long and 10 feet deep.
Friday was the first day this season the KT-22 lift had been open. Officials with Palisades said that they had been monitoring conditions on the slope since Sunday, and decided to open the lift at 9 a.m.
Michael Gross, vice president of mountain operations at Palisades Tahoe Resort, said safety crews had checked out the avalanche area the past several days.
“For the past few days they've been up there doing control work, evaluating weather conditions, setting up all the safety markings, hazard markings etcetera, to get it prepared for today's opening,” he said in a press conference Wednesday afternoon.
Gross said the resort looked at a number of factors before deciding to open the KT-22 run.
“Starts with forecasting, looking at weather data. You know, we've got decades worth of weather data that we're always resourcing or referencing,” he said. “It's looking at current forecasts, it's looking at all different models. It's looking at wind speed, snowpack, density, wind direction, there's a variety of things that go into play.”
Palisades said that the cause of the avalanche is still under investigation.
Governor Gavin Newsom’s office announced it was “monitoring” the incident and that Cal Fire would be coordinating to provide resources and personnel.
An avalanche in the area in 2020 killed a skier and injured another. In 2018 five people were hit by an avalanche and two were hospitalized, and a ski patroller was killed in 2017.
Palisades is also near the site where seven people were killed in an avalanche in 1982.
On Wednesday morning, the Sierra Avalanche Center rated the possibility of avalanches in the area as “considerable,” extending the warning through Thursday morning.
“A strong winter storm will enter our area today bringing high intensity snowfall and gale force winds,” the group’s morning warning reads. “Avalanche danger will quickly increase today with avalanches occurring in a variety of areas by this afternoon. A period of high avalanche danger may occur in the early evening hours.”
A Winter Storm Warning is in effect for much of the eastern Sierra through 1 a.m. on Thursday, warning of travel that could be “very difficult to impossible” due to forecasted heavy snowfall and gusty winds.
“If you must travel, keep an extra flashlight, food, and water in your vehicle in case of an emergency,” the alert reads.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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