KINGS BEACH, Calif. – On Tuesday, the Placer County Board of Supervisors honored the victims of the Castle Peak avalanche and recognized the Tahoe Nordic Search and Rescue Team for its critical intervention. The commendation occurred at the North Tahoe Events Center during the board’s meeting.

The Feb. 17 incident marked the deadliest avalanche in California history, during which nine individuals lost their lives. The incident deeply impacted a tight-knit mountain community with victims from the Tahoe region and the Bay Area.

The Tahoe Nordic Search and Rescue Team (TNSAR) is a volunteer group of highly experienced skiers, snowmobilers, and snowcat operators. Members include nurses, medical technicians, doctors, ski patrollers, and firefighters, many of whom possess advanced skills in medical and survival training, mapping, and search techniques.

The rescue organization was honored for its exceptional service, bravery, and compassion during the response, rescuing six survivors and recovering the nine deceased.

In response to the avalanche, 24 TNSAR volunteers deployed into dangerous avalanche terrain, severe weather and demanding backcountry travel, in conditions that “were at times life-threatening to the volunteers,” the commendation says, read by Supervisor Cindy Gustafson at the meeting.

“Many of the volunteers involved in the response were members of the same community as the victims,” it continued to read, “and in some cases shared personal connections with those who were lost, making their service all the more courageous, selfless, and emotionally difficult.”

The board also authorized a nomination letter to Governor Gavin Newsom, requesting state-level recognition for TNSAR.

“Communities are only strong because of the people who live here and the volunteers that help them through such tragedies, and also the positive times,” Gustafson said to the TNSAR members present at the meeting. “You’re an example, a beacon of light for all of us to follow in your selfless endeavors for our communities.”