Historical Incidents

Incident Summary

Date
2020-02-02
Location
Upper Burnt
Location Description
Approximately 65km SW of Chetwynd, BC
Province
BC
Coordinates
55.27017 °, -122.31030 °
Elevation
1600 m
Activity
Snowmobiling
Involvement
1
Injury
0
Fatality
1
Description
Late in the afternoon on February 2, 2020 authorities received notification of an incident involving a snowmobiler who was missing after an avalanche had occurred. SAR efforts were hampered by poor weather and the risk of further avalanches. Eventually a snowmobile was observed in the avalanche debris where the missing person was reported but no transceiver signal was found. Probing and avalanche rescue dog teams were unable to locate the missing person. Active rescue efforts were suspended on February 8th. See attached information from Chetwynd RCMP for further details. Preliminary investigation suggests the avalanche failed on a layer of faceted snow lying on a rain crust that formed in mid-November. This report was created Feb 12, 2020 and will be updated if new information becomes available.

Avalanches

Date/TimeSizeTypeTriggerElevationAspectSlab widthSlab Thickness
2.5SMa1600 mSE-130 cm

Weather

Present TempMax TempMin Temp24hr TrendWind SpeedWind DirectionSky ConditionPrecipitation Type & Intensity
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Snowpack

Snowpack24hr SnowStorm SnowStorm Date
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Documents

Document DateTitleSource
2020-02-12Site PhotoSARview
2020-02-12RCMP Info Feb 10Chetwynd RCMPview