A ‘roofalanche’ that occurred on Saturday afternoon in Crested Butte South, CO has killed one man and hospitalized another. The slide ripped from the roof of a commercial building as the men were clearing snow.
Accident Summary From CAIC
“PRELIMINARY: Two people were clearing snow from a low-angled roof. The snow avalanched. Both were caught and buried, but no one witnessed the avalanche. About 10 minutes later, someone discovered the avalanche, called 911, and began digging. Local emergency services personnel arrived within 10 minutes. The first person was dug out and survived. The second person was buried more deeply. They were located by probing, and were not breathing when dug out. The two were buried for 20 to 30 minutes.
The victims, Blair Tulliver (Tully) Burton age 37 of Crested Butte and Stephan Michael Martel age 25 of Gunnison. Mr. Burton was transported for suspected hypothermia. Mr. Martel was pronounced deceased at the hospital as a result of his injuries. His family has been notified of his passing.”
Crested Butte area has received more than 50″ of snow over the past week. Avalanche danger is rated as Considerable to Extreme.
