MULLAN, Idaho — Two men were rescued after being caught in an avalanche in the Idaho backcountry, while a third man was believed dead, authorities said.
A rescue effort began shortly before 3 p.m. Thursday when law enforcement received a GPS alert of a possible fatal avalanche accident near Stevens Peak, close to the Montana border, the Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement on social media.
A search and rescue effort began with assistance from the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Air Force.
Authorities used a GPS texting device to establish communication with two men caught in the avalanche. After a search of the area, the pair were located and transported for medical care, the sheriff’s office said. One of the men had a broken arm, KREM-TV reported.
A conversation with the men led authorities to believe a third man had died at the avalanche site, the sheriff’s office said.
Authorities resumed the search for the deceased man on Friday in subzero temperatures.
The identities of the three men were not immediately released.
Authorities have not said what the three people were doing in the area, which is several miles southwest of Lookout Peak ski area and more than 90 miles from Missoula, Montana.
The area had been warned of avalanche danger for several days due to snowfall and high winds that have created unstable conditions on high, steep slopes.
The Idaho Panhandle Avalanche Center warned that avalanches caused by human activity are “likely to continue” in steeper terrain.
Another avalanche in central Idaho left two vehicles stranded on Highway 21 Thursday evening, along an infamous stretch of road called “avalanche alley.”
Boise County Sheriff Scott Turner said the people inside were unharmed and that they managed to climb out the windows of their car and use a cell phone to text 911. The region has limited cell service, which can make it difficult to get help.
“We encourage people traveling through the backcountry to use some of the other technologies, like the satellite Garmin devices,” he said.
The winter has been unusually dry until this week, which has led to a lot of pent-up demand from winter vacationers, Turner said. But conditions are dangerous for recreationalists and rescuers, he said.
“Earlier Thursday we had a bunch of snowmobiles tied up, and the rescue crew really had a hard time getting them out because there were avalanches coming down the trail and road,” Turner said. Still, everyone got home safely, he said.
“We encourage everyone to stay in the lower elevations this weekend,” he said.
The avalanches in Idaho came a day after California reported its first U.S. avalanche death of the season. An avalanche ripped through a section of expert trails at Palisades Tahoe Ski Area near Lake Tahoe Wednesday morning, trapping four people and killing one.
A second avalanche hit the same area near Lake Tahoe on Thursday. But no casualties have been reported.
Last February, three members of a New York mountain climbing club were killed in an avalanche on a remote mountain peak in Washington state’s Cascade Mountains.
Three climbers in Alaska’s Denali National Park were killed in two separate incidents on the same day last May. One caused an avalanche while skiing in the park’s backcountry, and two others were swept away as they prepared to climb a peak known as Moose’s Tooth. Their bodies were never found.