Man dies in B.C. avalanche
Digital Reporter
Sunday, February 16, 2014, 5:44 AM -
Police have confirmed one man was killed in an avalanche Saturday in the West Kootenay Region of British Columbia.
Revelstoke RCMP and search and rescue teams recovered the man's body. Authorities say there were three snowmobilers at the site, but two of them escaped without injury.
Avalanche risk is high in almost all mountain areas of B.C. this weekend according to the Canadian Avalanche Centre.
With the kind of snow on tap for the province's higher elevations, it's not hard to see why.
In addition to snow already on the ground, it's part of the latest system to approach B.C., with even more rain and snow.
"Rain for the coast and snow in the mountains continues as this unsettled pattern is expected to go on for the next week," Weather Network meteorologist Monica Vaswani said Sunday morning.
MORE INFO: Read more about that approaching system here.
Authorities in B.C. have actually been strategically closing some highways since Friday, including a planned four-hour closure of the Coquihalla Highway 5, which was set to shut temporarily at 7 a.m.
That highway is listed as open on the DriveBC website as of Sunday morning, but other temporary closures, including along Highway 1, may be possible.
12 Emergency Items You Should Always Have In Your Vehicle https://t.co/eXgHI19zqd #ShiftIntoWinter
— Drive BC (@DriveBC) February 16, 2014
With files from the Canadian Press.