Yosemite Avalanche Kills 1
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK — A Yosemite National Park employee died Tuesday of injuries he suffered when an avalanche trapped him in the park’s high country.
The man was in a bulldozer removing snow on Tioga Road near Olmsted Point when the avalanche occurred about 9 a.m. Tuesday.
The park employee was breathing when a rescue helicopter reached him at midmorning, Yosemite spokeswoman Kris Fister said. Officials said they did not know the magnitude of the avalanche or how long the employee had been trapped.
The man was taken by helicopter to Yosemite Medical Clinic, where he was pronounced dead. His name was not immediately released.
The man was part of a crew removing snow from the road, which normally is open by Memorial Day weekend. However, this season’s heavy snowfall has kept Tioga Pass closed.
Fister said crews had cleared one of the road’s lanes, which was covered with up to 17 feet of snow.
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