Severe snow storms cause deadly avalanches in California

Swaths of California were bracing for another bout of heavy weather as a fresh series of storms swirled toward the state.

Photo: Severe snow storms cause deadly avalanches in California

Wintry conditions over the past week have already claimed at least one life.

One man was killed, another critically injured and two were missing after three avalanches swept backcountry slopes in the San Gabriel Mountains Friday, officials said.

The San Gabriel Mountains are located in northern Los Angeles County and western San Bernardino County, California, USA. The mountain range forms a barrier between the Greater Los Angeles Area and the Mojave Desert.

This Transverse Range lies in and is surrounded by the Angeles National Forest with the San Andreas Fault as the northern border to the range. The highest peak in the range is Mount San Antonio, commonly referred to as Mt. Baldy. Mount Wilson is another famous peak, famed for the Mount Wilson Observatory. The observatory may be visited by the public.

In the winter snowboarding and snow skiing is quite popular in the San Gabriels at Mountain High, and Mt. Baldy. There are two other resorts (Mount Waterman and Kratka Ridge) but they are rarely open. In the summer, canyoneering, hiking, backpacking, picnicking and camping are some of the activities of its visitors.

From time to time, a hiker gets lost or stuck on a mountain ledge, or may fall downhill. Some of the more extreme cases of emergency search and rescue will often be given air time on Los Angeles television and radio newscasts.