Fierce winter storm shuts interstate, raises avalanche fears

RENO, Nev. - Fierce winter storms that have buried the Sierra Nevada under more than 8 feet of snow over four days pummeled the region Tuesday, closing Interstate 80 and raising new concerns about dangerous avalanches at Lake Tahoe.

"It's terrible," Sara Olson said at the J&L Food Mart, in Truckee, Calif. "I'm getting very sick of this. If I have to pick up another shovel, someone's going to get hurt."

Several major roads were shut down Tuesday because of avalanche dangers, spinouts and near-blizzard conditions.

The Washoe County Sheriff's Office issued a "high avalanche warning" late Tuesday in the Crystal Bay Hill area on Lake Tahoe's north shore, trigging a voluntary evacuation in some neighborhoods.

Deputies went door-to-door urging residents to leave their homes until Wednesday morning if they can do so safely. The Red Cross set up a temporary shelter at the elementary school in Incline Village.

"Residents who choose to remain their homes are being advised to stay in an avalanche safe area, such as a downhill basement or interior foundation wall," Sgt. Scott Shields said.

One man was killed and three friends barely escaped after being buried for more than four hours in an avalanche over the weekend near Donner Pass, not far from where I-80 crosses the mountains.

Hundreds of state workers were sent home early Tuesday in Reno, Carson City, Dayton, Gardnerville and Minden.

Interstate 80 was closed at midmorning until early evening from the Nevada-California state line west to Applegate, Calif., about 30 miles northeast of Sacramento.

An avalanche closed the Mount Rose Highway southwest of Reno, burying the road in 8 feet of snow but causing no injuries or vehicle damage.

Parts of U.S. Highway 50 also were closed when sheriff's deputies reported a "whiteout" at Spooner Summit near Lake Tahoe.

"It's hard to remember a time in the middle of the day when we had this many roads closed," KRNV weatherman Dave Finley in Reno said at noon Tuesday. "It is kind of tough to get out of Nevada."

A winter storm warning remained in effect for much of the northern and central Sierra through Tuesday night into Wednesday. Northern Nevada valleys were included.

The series of wet, Pacific storms began an invasion of the region on Saturday, dumping snow in amounts measured in feet.

They even prompted the Desert Research Institute to suspend its cloud-seeding program, designed to squeeze precious moisture for the high desert valleys of northern Nevada from often finicky storms.

"We suspended seeding on Saturday morning because of high winds," said DRI spokesman John Doherty. "Since then, the avalanche conditions occurred, plus the snowpack depths have gone up above our maximum for this time of year."

The snowpack in the Tahoe area was estimated at near 150 percent of average for this time of year - a substantial increase from just nine days ago when it stood at 116 percent.

It apparently guarantees an unprecedented fifth consecutive wet winter for the high desert region. Even if no more snow falls the rest of the season, the moisture will stand at average or above.

In the Reno-Carson City area, a steady rain began falling by midday Tuesday as temperatures started to drop. Minor injuries were reported in an accident involving a city bus in Reno.

A Washoe County Jail inmate crew was called out to help sandbag around a local creek in Steamboat early Tuesday.

Flood watches were out for local creeks and streams, but the Truckee River and other major waterways did not appear to be in any immediate danger of jumping their banks as they did two years ago.

"This storm, although very strong and wet, is much colder than the flood of 1997," said Roger Lamoni at the National Weather Service.

The storm sent strong winds into Southern Nevada, where blowing dust and sand was restricting visibility on Interstate 15 and Interstate 40 near Las Vegas.

The Clark County Health District issued a health advisory for the Las Vegas valley due to unhealthful levels of inhalable particulate matter in the air.

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