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Officials fine Squaw Valley over death of ski patroller

Squaw Valley was closed Tuesday, Jan. 24, after a ski patroller at the resort died that morning.
Amanda Rhoades / Sierra Sun

OLYMPIC VALLEY, Calif. (AP) – State officials have cited and fined a California ski resort for violating two workplace safety codes following an investigation into a ski patroller’s death.

KRNV-TV reports (http://bit.ly/2vSlIyt ) 42-year-old Squaw Valley Ski Resort patroller Joe Zuiches died in January while working avalanche control.

California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health concluded the resort failed “to correct an identified unsafe working condition” in regards to hang cord the patrollers were using. The division also cited the resort for “failing to ensure that all crewmembers maintained visual contact or awareness” with each other.

Fellow patrollers found Zuiches dead in the last place he was seen after a couple of explosive detonations spurred radio silence from him.

The ski resort was fined a total of $20,250.


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