UPDATE: Police officer killed in B.C. avalanche, another injured

UPDATE: 1:00 p.m.

The City of Nelson says 43-year-old Const. Wade Tittemore was the victim of an avalanche Monday that rolled over him and a fellow member of the city’s police department.

It says the second officer, Const. Mathieu Nolet remains in critical condition in hospital.

The statement from the city says Tittemore had been with the force for four years and before that was with the Calgary Police Service for 11 years.

It says Tittemore was an avid backcountry enthusiast who loved skiing, hiking and backpacking and moved to Nelson with his wife and two sons.

Nelson Police Chief Donovan Fisher says Nolet has internal injuries and broken ribs.

Fisher says the RCMP will be covering shifts for the Nelson Police Department and other departments from around the province have also offered help.

(The Canadian Press)

Original story

An off-duty police officer has died in an avalanche in southeastern British Columbia, less than a week after Avalanche Canada warned the snowpack across much of Western Canada was “weak,” “scary” and “spooky.”

“Some professionals are comparing this snowpack to 2003, which was one of the worst years on record for avalanche fatalities,” Avalanche Canada said in a post on its website.

A post on the City of Nelson Facebook page on Monday said one of its officers had been killed in an avalanche near Kaslo, B.C., and another officer was critically injured. Neither were working at the time.

The Nelson Police Board said the two were on snowmobiles about 70 kilometres north of the city when they were engulfed.

No further details were immediately available, but the Nelson Facebook post said more information would be released in the coming days.

The Avalanche Canada website rated the avalanche risk at a three on its five-point scale, meaning the danger was “considerable.”

“Periods of drought and cold weather … created numerous problematic layers in the snowpack,” the website said, generating conditions “seen once every ten to twenty years.” It called the snowpack “spooky” for much of Western Canada.

“The setup of the snowpack varies across the provinces but there is a similar theme for most areas — riders have triggered large, scary avalanches with high consequences,” said Avalanche Canada.

The website said a size 2.5 avalanche had been triggered by humans on a slope near Kaslo on Monday.

Avalanche sizes are classified in a five-point rating that measures destructive potential. A slide with a rating of two is large enough to bury, injure or kill a person, while an avalanche ranked at three can bury a car, destroy a small building or break trees, the Avalanche Canada site said.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted a message of support to the surviving officer and to family, friends and colleagues of both officers, saying he was “incredibly saddened” to hear the news and wishing the survivor a “fast and full recovery.”

Trudeau’s youngest brother, Michel, was just 23 years old when he died in an avalanche in B.C., in 1998.

Vancouver Police Department Chief Adam Palmer also sent his support, tweeting “our thoughts at VPD are with the officers’ families and our brothers and sisters.”

(The Canadian Press)