Boise Woman Among Victims of Devastating California Avalanche
BOISE, Idaho (KIFI) — A Boise woman was among those killed in an avalanche near Lake Tahoe, California, earlier this week.
Liz Clabaugh, 52, of Boise, and her sister, Caroline Sekar, 45, from San Francisco, were part of an experienced group of backcountry skiers caught in a slide during a historic winter storm in the Sierra Nevada. The disaster has been described by officials as one of the deadliest avalanches in the United States in decades.
Liz Clabaugh
According to CNN, the sisters were identified in a statement by their families, along with their skiing companions Carrie Atkin, Danielle Keatley, Kate Morse, and Kate Vitt. According to Clabaugh's LinkedIn profile, she was a clinical educator and coordinator at St. Luke's Health System.
“We have many unanswered questions,” the families’ statement said. “We are heartbroken and are doing our best to care for one another and our families in the way we know these women would have wanted.”
The sisters' brother, McAlister Clabaugh, told the New York Times that the loss is incomprehensible.
“These are two of the best people I’ve ever known,” said Clabaugh. “They were incredible sisters, mothers, wives, and friends. And the idea that they are both gone is, I don’t even know how to put it into words.”
Rescue workers haven't been able to retrieve the people who were found dead on the mountain because of severe storm conditions.
