does anybody know these guys ????
Police haven't officially released their names, but those missing or dead have been identified as Warren Rothel, Thomas Talarico, Kane Rusnak, Danny Bjarnason, Leonard Stier and his son Michael Stier, Kurt Kabel and Blaine Wilson.
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Seven+b...919/story.html
posted this in other threads
Small B.C. town mourns avalanche deaths
Colette Derworiz, Sarah McGinnis and Kelly Sinoski, Canwest News Service
Published: Monday, December 29, 2008
SPARWOOD, B.C. -- A small town in British Columbia is reeling as rescuers work to recover the bodies of eight men who were buried by a series of avalanches on the weekend.
Eleven Sparwood snowmobilers were trapped Sunday under a mountain of snow after several avalanches slammed down on them near Fernie.
While three of the men managed to dig themselves out, a search and rescue operation continued Monday to find the remaining eight men.
Email to a friend
Printer friendly
Font:
****"It's a sombre day," said Sparwood Mayor David Wilks, who said all of the men were born and raised in Sparwood, a town of about 4,000 residents. "They're good guys.
"They snowmobiled, that's what they did for entertainment. They were very experienced."
Mr. Wilks, a former RCMP officer in the town, said the community is pulling together to help those left behind.
"Some of them are newly married, two of them have new babies," he said. "They are all good guys."
The eight men trapped in the avalanche have been identified as Dan Bjarnason, Kurt Kabel, Warren Rothel, Kane Rusnak, Leonard and Michael Stier, Thomas Talarico and Blaine Wilson.
By 3 p.m., after six of the bodies had been recovered, members of social networking site Facebook were offering their prayers to the families.
Some 948 members had signed up to the site, first to pray for the missing men and then to mourn them. A candlelight vigil was scheduled for the town.
When they weren't snowmobiling, the men had their families or other pursuits.
Mr. Rusnak, who has a son, was reportedly into four-by-fouring, as was Mr. Rothel, who in 2004 organized two mud bog events for Sparwood because of high interest in the sport.
Mr. Wilson was into rodeos, while Mr. Bjarnason was an avid five-pin bowler. Both Mr. Kabel, who was just married in June, and Mr. Talarico, were new fathers.
Others remembered some of the men celebrating a friend's wedding a night before they died.
"We're shocked to hear what is happening," said Kevin Doucet, Sparwood resident and father of the bride. "They were some close friends of my daughters involved, people she went to school with. She's pretty sad. It was her wedding [Saturday] and some of those people were there."
Alex Miller, who owns several businesses in Sparwood, said the men weren't the only snowmobilers in the area on Sunday, despite a considerable avalanche risk.
"There were at least 100 snowmobilers out," he said. "I was probably 10 kilometres away from where they were."
Mr. Miller, who is also with the Fernie Snowmobile Association, said most people who sled in the area have completed an avalanche course.
"There's always the potential," he said. "It's just like flying an airplane, there's always the potential of something going wrong.
"I know the people involved and everybody had the proper equipment and training."
Fernie Snowmobile Association director Jim Thorner got a call after dinner on Sunday from search and rescue coordinators. They were searching for detailed maps of the Harvey Pass area, where the avalanches occurred.
Thorner wasn't given any details about the avalanche, but having witnessed several snow slides while snowmobiling -- and barely escaping being caught in an avalanche himself -- he knew the situation was serious.
Within hours of the avalanche phone lines buzzed throughout Sparwood as residents called loved ones, friends and neighbours frantic to find out who could be trapped beneath the snow.
"One friend phoned me. His name was being brought up [as one of the victims]. He said his family phoned, they all thought I was buried," said Joey Matt, a member of the Elk Valley Mountaineers snowmobile club.
Another resident, Christine Ehrler, said she was waiting with baited breath all afternoon while her son helped with the search.
"Everybody is hoping and praying for the best, everybody is hoping for a miracle, but we're also preparing for the worst -- because you have to," she said.
Many residents of the small coal mining town are sadly accustomed to coping with prolonged rescue efforts.
In the spring of 1967, 15 miners were killed when an explosion ripped through the Balmer North mine in the community of Natal -- a nearby town which was relocated to Sparwood later that decade.
Five coal mines are still operating in the immediate area and the mines remain Sparwood's biggest single employer.
Accidents are mercifully infrequent, but most are aware of the possibility something could happen again, said Ms. Ehrler.
"You wait for the best, you wait for survivors to be found. If not, you come together and comfort each other as best you can," she said.
With files from Calgary Herald, Vancouver Sun
