California Extreme Weather

All nine victims from a 15‑person guided backcountry ski party at Castle Peak in the Sierra Nevada — six clients and three guides from Blackbird Mountain Guides — have been recovered and identified after a five‑day search that ended Saturday; six others survived. The fatal, football‑field‑sized slab avalanche struck Feb. 17 amid a major storm and official avalanche watches and warnings, and Nevada County and state workplace‑safety investigators are probing the guides’ decisions and possible criminal negligence as recoveries were delayed by ongoing avalanche danger.