Avalanche kills snowmobiler in Wyoming, 4th such fatality in U.S. this month

A snowmobiler died after he was buried by an avalanche in Wyoming, authorities said Monday, marking at least the fourth person to be killed by an avalanche in Western states this month.

Nicholas Bringhurst, 31, of Springville, Utah, was in the LaBarge Creek area of western Wyoming on Sunday when he was caught in the avalanche, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

Bringhurst’s friend located him, dug him out of the snow and initiated CPR, the sheriff’s office said, but Bringhurst died at the scene, the office said.

According to the Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center, a “snowmobiler triggered an avalanche on a small but steep slope” and was buried about 2 feet deep.

The coroner’s office will determine the cause of death.

The incident unfolded two days after two men were killed in an avalanche in central Washington state. The bodies of the two victims — identified as Paul Markoff, 38, and Erik Henne, 43 — were found with the help of K9s and air support. Two survivors were able to send a distress call on their Garmin satellite device and were later rescued.

Last week, a snowmobiler in California’s Sierra Nevada died after being buried by an avalanche. The victim was later identified as Chris Scott Thomason, 42, of Bend, Oregon.

Each winter, 25 to 30 people are killed by avalanches in the U.S., according to the National Avalanche Center. Utah and Washington are deemed “high risk” spots while areas of California, Colorado, Idaho and Wyoming are considered “considerable risk,” according to the center’s map.