It was quite the scary experience for David Ortiz and Neale Allen Shutler, who were stuck in a car engulfed in snow, with seemingly no way out.
The two men were carefully driving along Highway 89 in the early hours Monday (12:30 a.m.) when an avalanche occurred near Alpine Meadows and Tahoe City, burying two cars, including the one carrying Ortiz and Shutler.
“The slide was 200 feet across and 12 feet high at its termination point,” CHP-Truckee officials reported on the agency’s Facebook page.
Ortiz and Shutler quickly found themselves stuck in their car with no chance of getting out.
“There was a huge gust of wind and a brief whiteout where I tried to slow down. As soon as that was over, I saw a little pile of snow in front of me that I hit and then the avalanche came tumbling on top of us,” Shutler told KCRA-3 TV in Sacramento. “Probably two to three feet of snow came down.”
It was enough snow that the two men realized they weren’t getting out of the car without help. The Placer County Sheriff’s Office said the pair called 911 for help. The car’s roof was covered by three feet of snow and its lights were flashing. However, the two men were not visible.
North Tahoe Fire Protection District personnel searched the area and eventually found the buried car. Firefighters took approximately 30 minutes to free the pair.
One of the initial things they did was turn the car off to avoid carbon monoxide fumes that would have suffocated the pair. They covered themselves with blankets that were in the back seat.
Ortiz and Shutler, who were stuck in the vehicle for around and hour, were found in good health following the rescue and required no medical attention. They snapped a selfie and posted it on Facebook to commemorate the harrowing experience.
Heavy snow and winds pelted the Lake Tahoe region Sunday, causing road closures and traffic delays. Several avalanches had been reported the past couple days in the region’s backcountry.
Caltrans closed Highway 89 shortly after the avalanche hit in the early morning hours Monday and it stayed close until about noon time.
Weather forecasters are predicting that Tuesday the sun will return to the Lake Tahoe region and there will be a prolonged dry period. Temperatures are expected to stay cold into the weekend with highs in the 30s.
There is a weak system that will push through on Thursday with some clouds and a few flakes possible. Next week high pressure over the area continues to bring dry weather and it may warm into the 40s at lake level.
