LA wildfires to Alaska's avalanche deaths: US struggles with extreme weather | Photos

Extreme weather, like intense heat, dry conditions, and heavy snowstorms, has fueled recent disasters like the LA wildfires and avalanche deaths in the US.  ...read more

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Published on Mar 07, 2025 02:03 PM IST

Three skiers who had flown by helicopter to a remote mountain range were swept away by an avalanche and buried under snow nearly as deep as a 10-story building on Wednesday. Recently, three people died in avalanches on Feb. 17: one person near Lake Tahoe and two backcountry skiers in Oregon’s Cascade Mountains.(AP)

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Published on Mar 07, 2025 02:03 PM IST

Fueled by strong winds and dry weather, a series of fierce wildfires broke out on January 7 and raced through the Los Angeles region, burning hundreds of properties and killing many people, some of whom perished attempting to save their houses from the flames. In the picture: A motorcyclist stops to look at a burning home during the Eaton Fire in the Altadena area of Los Angeles County, California, on January 8, 2025.(AFP)

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Published on Mar 07, 2025 02:03 PM IST

If the deaths are confirmed, Wednesday's avalanche would be the deadliest US avalanche since three climbers were killed in a slide in Washington’s Cascade Mountains two years ago.(AP)

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Published on Mar 07, 2025 02:03 PM IST

The Palisades Fire started as a brush fire in Pacific Palisades, a neighborhood in Los Angeles east of Malibu on the morning of January 7. Over 6,800 buildings were damaged or completely destroyed as the fire spread to 23,448 acres. In the picture: Smoke rises as fire burns among trees following the spread of wildfires in Altadena.(REUTERS)

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Published on Mar 07, 2025 02:03 PM IST

Girdwood is the skiing capital of Alaska and home to the Alyeska Resort, at the base of Mount Alyeska, where people can downhill ski or snowboard. Each winter, 25 to 30 people die in avalanches in the US, according to the National Avalanche Center.(AP)

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Published on Mar 07, 2025 02:03 PM IST

 Other fires erupted in the Los Angeles region while firefighters battled the biggest blazes in Palisades. The fires—including the Lidia, Archer, Woodley, Sunset, Kenneth, Hurst, and Auto fires—burned nearly 2,399 acres. Two weeks after the initial fires, the Hughes Fire began in northern Los Angeles County on January 22 and quickly grew to over 10,000 acres ( REUTERS)

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Published on Mar 07, 2025 02:03 PM IST

Prior to this week's accident, 15 people had been killed across the US by avalanches this winter. Among them were 10 backcountry skiers and snowboarders, four people on snow machines, and a ski patroller. (AP)

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Published on Mar 07, 2025 02:03 PM IST

As workers attempted to contain the fires, over 200,000 people were at one time under evacuation orders. In the days and weeks that followed, authorities declared that several neighborhoods evacuated due to the Palisades and Eaton fires would only be partially repopulated.(REUTERS)

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Published on Mar 07, 2025 02:03 PM IST

The most recent avalanche accident, besides the one on Wednesday, was last Friday in Washington State, where three snowmobilers were caught in a slide that buried and killed one person and injured a second in the Harts Pass area.(AP)

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Published on Mar 07, 2025 02:03 PM IST

 The insured losses from the fires may exceed $20 billion, and total economic losses could reach $50 billion. The combination of drought-like conditions—Southern California experienced nearly 10% or less of average rainfall since October—and powerful offshore winds that hit the region triggered the fire.(AFP)