Tenement house in Tahoe “swallowed” by an avalanche

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Severe winter weather, which saw snow fall in the Bay Area and closed Yosemite National Park indefinitely, is also leading to major avalanches across the state.

One of the most striking examples was an avalanche that hit a three-story Olympic Valley apartment building at 400 Shirley Canyon Road, near Lake Tahoe on Tuesday evening.

According to the Placer County Sheriff’s Department, the avalanche swept 200 yards wide, plunged to a depth of 25 feet and “swallowed” the bottom two floors of the building.

Luckily, less than a dozen residents of the apartment complex were unharmed and were evacuated with the help of local fire brigades, according to Angela Musallam, public affairs officer for the Sheriff’s Department.

Olympic Valley is a small unincorporated resort community near Lake Tahoe where the 1960 Winter Olympics were held.

The Tahoe Nordic Search and Rescue and Palisades Ski Patrol also provided rescue assistance, using K-9 units to search for people.

Only four of the 70 apartments in the building were occupied at the time, but the avalanches also affected dozens of nearby residences.

Musallam said it had been “several years” since an avalanche of this nature had affected so many homes.

The timing of when residents will be able to return to their homes is yet to be specified. County building inspectors plan to visit the property over the next few days and check for potential structural problems or the need for major repairs.

Neighboring areas were also evacuated due to the increased risk of avalanches, including:

• from Shirley Canyon Road to Granite Chief Road.
• Granite Chief Road.
• Sandy path from Wayne Rd. to Navajo Ct.
• Summit Peak Road.
• Summer Square

A temporary evacuation center has been opened by Placer County officials at the Community Recreation Center at 10981 Truckee Way in Truckee for those affected by the orders.

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