TRUCKEE, Calif. — There was no reprieve in the Sierra Friday as snow and wind created near whiteout conditions and a blizzard warning is set through the weekend. The distant boom of avalanche control near Truckee filled the town much like snowfall.
“That’s going to be our avalanche control team bombing the mountain to keep it safe for skiers and riders,” said Patrick Lacey with Palisades Tahoe.
It’s a difficult balance as there’s enough snow for a long ski season and booming tourism, but they’re asking people to wait until it’s safer.
“You just can’t have powder fever right now,” said Lacey.
Robert Womack, the head of emergency services for Truckee, says people are listening and staying off the roads for the most part. It’s an even more important suggestion to heed Friday night into Saturday.
“At some point later tonight (Friday) there will be enough snow and wind that even being in your car could be deadly,” said Womack.
A team of 25 people are working 24/7 in 12-hour shifts to keep the roads clear. At some point they’ll have to start trucking snow out of downtown to melt somewhere else. PG&E warned of power outages earlier in the week.
“Outages have been much shorter, six to eight hours at the most, unless we have trees into power poles,” said Womack.
Palisades and the town of Truckee anticipates a rush of people to ski and board Monday, weather and roads permitting, in the small window before the next storm Tuesday.
“The town takes about 10 days after the storm ends to get all the off-haul cleanup done,” said Womack.
If you plan to come up after the storm, be self-sufficient with food, water and warmth.
Palisades says there will be skiing until Memorial Day, so there’s no need to rush up there in a dangerous situation when there’s plenty of time in the season.
