Any given weekend, downtown Truckee is packed with visitors after a day on the slopes. But on Sunday night it was different. The sounds of the Truckee Threshold Choir floated through the cold winter air in the heart of the small mountain town.
People packed into an open air square to honor family members, friends, and neighbors who died in the Feb. 17 avalanche, the deadliest in California's history.
The warm glow from candles illuminated nine blue wooden hearts displaying the names of those who died. Vice Mayor Courtney Henderson shared messages of unity in the face of tragedy.
“Grief has a way of making us feel very small and very isolated. My deepest hope for tonight is that you feel the opposite. Held by the hundreds of neighbors who showed up tonight because that is simply what we do,” Henderson said.
As the choir sang Amazing Grace, hundreds of candles were raised into the air.
As the vigil came to a close, many people stayed to pay their respects — leaving flowers, origami peace cranes, and written messages on the wooden hearts.
Truckee resident Preston Greene said the community is extremely tight-knit.
“We're all family around here. It's what makes a community like this thrive. And so you lose members of your community, you lose someone in your family. And so we got to be out here to support everybody,” Greene said.
Truckee, with its 17,000 residents, is a gateway to world-renowned ski resorts and backcountry skiing — and outdoor recreation is engrained in the town’s culture.
Business owner Paula Smith and her husband have lived in the town for 30 years. She said although she did not personally know anyone who perished in the avalanche, she has known people who have died in avalanches in the past.
“It also is just something that our community has experienced…And I think it's so important to all be here together in that way too because it's a shared experience of loss,” Smith said.
The nine people who died were part of a 15-person guided ski tour. They were returning from a three day trip when the avalanche hit. Due to a severe winter storm it took rescuers days to recover their bodies.
But on Sunday night this town paused to grieve this immense loss and honor their memories.
“A vigil is just, I feel like a way to feel like you can be next to your neighbor and your community and feel that we were all here,” Smith said.
The Town of Truckee announced drop-in support hours at the Church of the Mountains Feb. 23 through Feb. 27 from noon to 2 p.m. daily.
