Sawtooth Avalanche Center reports record pace of U.S. avalanche deaths
The center wants the community to remember to get the forecast, get the training and get the right gear before operating in the back county
Hailey, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) —The Sawtooth Avalanche Center is reporting a record pace of U.S. avalanche deaths this winter.
As of Feb. 22, avalanches have claimed 25 lives in the Western United States in February alone. Two snowmobilers have died in Idaho in the past week.
The avalanche center said with the current forecast it is a safe bet that dangerous avalanche conditions will continue. The season may not have seen the last Idaho avalanche accident of the season, and the center wants the community to remember to get the forecast, get the training and get the right gear before operating in the back county.
“We want people to understand that there are an unprecedented number of avalanches that we have been seeing out in the backcountry this year across the West and unprecedented numbers of avalanche fatalities as well across the West,” said avalanche forecaster Ethan Davis.
On Wednesday, in the Wood River Valley, the avalanche danger is moderate, and considerable further into the Sawtooth National Forest.
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