Avalanche in Southwestern San Juan Mountains, Colorado

A father and two children were moving between a building and vehicle when they were caught in a roof avalanche. The force of the avalanche threw one child towards the building, where their airway was covered in debris but part of their head was visible (partially buried-critical). The other two were completely buried about 10 feet away, in close proximity to each other, and under two to three feet of avalanche debris. Bystanders and emergency services excavated the three. All three were taken to hospital care. One of the children later died from injuries sustained in the avalanche.

A series of winter systems associated with an atmospheric river brought an abundance of heavy, wet snow to southwest Colorado. This, paired with periods of warmer temperatures in between the events, resulted in an unstable snowpack.