9 killed in California avalanche. Where are risks highest in Washington?
As California reels from its deadliest avalanche in modern history, Washington residents may be wondering about avalanche risks in the Evergreen State.
Eleven skiers and four professional guides were traversing the Sierra Nevada near Lake Tahoe on Tuesday, Feb. 17, amid a heavy snowstorm when the avalanche struck.
As of Wednesday, Feb. 18, eight people from the missing party had been found dead, the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office said, while one member of the party was missing and presumed dead.
Avalanches kill one to two people every year in Washington state, according to the Washington Emergency Management Division.
“Many more are involved in avalanche accidents that do not result in fatalities,” the state agency said, noting that avalanche-related deaths tend to occur in the backcountry as opposed to “open runs at ski areas or on highways.”
Where are avalanche risks highest in Washington state?
Here’s what you need to know:
What is an avalanche?
The American Avalanche Association defines an avalanche as a mass of snow sliding, flowing or tumbling down a slope.
Avalanches can reach speeds of up to 100 mph and “vary in destructive power from harmless to large enough to destroy mature forests or flatten villages,” the American Avalanche Association said.
What triggers an avalanche?
“Avalanches can be triggered by either an increase in stress on the snowpack, such as added weight, or a decrease in snowpack strength, such as when meltwater weakens an interface,” the American Avalanche Association said, with stresses ranging from a small snow shower to an explosive.
Snowslides can also be initiated by people.
“Human-triggered avalanches involve all forms of over-the-snow human travel, such as skiers, snowboarders and hikers,” as well as people on snowbikes, snowmobiles and fat bikes, the American Avalanche Association said.
“In most accidents, the snowpack sits in a state of natural equilibrium until the weight of a human tips the scales, triggering the avalanche,” the group explained.
Where are avalanche risks highest in Washington state?
As of Thursday, Feb. 19, a large swath of Western Washington was experiencing “moderate” avalanche danger, according to Avalanche.org.
Areas at moderate risk of avalanches included slopes on both sides of the northern and southern Cascade Mountains as well as the west slopes of Mount Baker, the site said.
Avalanche.org, a partnership between the American Avalanche Association and the Forest Service’s National Avalanche Center, serves as a hub for avalanche information and forecasts in the United States.
A color-coded map on the website provides daily avalanche forecasts for places around the United States based on the North American Public Avalanche Danger Scale, which looks at the likelihood, size and distribution of expected avalanches.
Under the Northern American Public Avalanche Danger Scale, “moderate” avalanche danger indicates “heightened avalanche conditions on specific terrain.”
Visitors should evaluate snow conditions and terrain carefully before exploring that area, as human-triggered avalanches are possible at this level.
As of Thursday, the east slopes of Mount Baker were at “low” avalanche danger, according to Avalanche.org.
How is the avalanche forecast created?
The Northwest Avalanche Center begins avalanche forecasting once enough snow on the mountains that is consistent with on-snow travel and typically continues forecasts until mid-April, according to its website.
“Forecasts are constructed by forecast staff using a combination of weather models, remote weather stations, snowpack data and field observations.” the Northwest Avalanche Center said. “We receive and incorporate field observations from our staff, the public and other avalanche professionals.”
The center has four or five forecasters in the field on any given day during wintertime, according to the website.
“We don’t forecast for every mountain range in the U.S., but we forecast for most of the places that get a lot of recreation,” Simon Trautman, director of the National Avalanche Center in Bellingham, previously told The Sacramento Bee. “During the winter season, there are people that spend 50% of their time in the office and about 50% of their time in the field.”
How many avalanches have been reported in Cascade Mountains?
According to the Northwest Avalanche Center, a total of 18 avalanches have been reported in the north Cascade Mountains so far in 2026.
A skier triggered an avalanche on Mount Baker on Monday, Feb. 16, the site said.
This story was originally published February 19, 2026 at 2:50 PM.