Deadliest avalanche in recent U.S. history kills 8

Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon confirming that rescuers located the bodies of eight skiers late Tuesday and believe the ninth was also killed. Our mission now is to get them home.

The first reports of the avalanche came in at about 11:30 on Tuesday morning.

Medical for an avalanche in the area of Castle Peak. Reported as 9 to 10 people buried. Three others attempting to dig them out.

Officials said the avalanche covered about the size of a football field in remote terrain near Castle Peak, a popular backcountry skiing destination north of Lake Tahoe. A large rescue operation was launched. I want to give you a sense of how treacherous these conditions are for search-and-rescue teams. You take one step off of this hard-packed snow, and you end up sinking into hip-deep snow. By afternoon, teams moved out on snowcats and were eventually able to connect with the six surviving skiers, two of whom were injured. The surviving skiers, one man and five women, were part of that original group of 15, including four guides. Nearly nine hours after the avalanche, the Truckee Fire Protection District transported two of the survivors to a nearby hospital for treatment. They suffered some sort of injuries during the avalanche itself. I think along the lines of broken bones, bumps and bruises.

EMS Battalion Chief Ryan Ochoa. How unusual is it for 15 people to get caught in an avalanche? I would say it's pretty unusual. Find our buried weak layer.

In this social-media video posted on Sunday by Blackbird Mountain Guides, the tour company that organized the trip, a guide warns that a weak layer in the snowpack could trigger unpredictable avalanches. And questions tonight are being raised about why the group stayed on the mountain until Tuesday, when an avalanche watch was issued at 7:45 AM Sunday. Now, the sheriff says that Blackbird Mountain Guides is cooperating. As for the recovery, officials tell us that they will not send teams back into the mountains until this weather clears. They say it is simply too dangerous. And the next fair-weather day, Tony, is Friday.

All right, Matt, thank you very much.