SODA SPRINGS, Calif. (AP) — Crews hope to resume efforts Friday to recover the bodies of eight people killed and one still missing in an avalanche in California's Sierra Nevada after days of dangerous weather that has hampered safe access to the area.
Six of the people who died were part of a close-knit group of friends who were experienced backcountry skiers and knew how to navigate the alpine wilderness, their families said Thursday. The three others who are dead or presumed dead were guides.
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Adrián Narayan digs his car out of the snow Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, in Soda Springs, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Snow comes down on a dog as traffic is backed up and motorists exit their vehicles along interstate 80 during a storm Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, near Soda Springs, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
A California Highway Patrol vehicle is parked along a road during a snow storm Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, in Placer County, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Snow is plowed in front of businesses during a snow storm Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, in Soda Springs, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
“We are devastated beyond words,” the families said in a statement released through a spokesperson. The women were mothers, wives and friends who “connected through the love of the outdoors,” they said, and were carrying avalanche safety equipment and prepared for backcountry travel.
The six were identified as Carrie Atkin, Liz Clabaugh, Danielle Keatley, Kate Morse, Caroline Sekar and Kate Vitt, and they lived in the San Francisco Bay Area, in Idaho and in the Lake Tahoe area. The families asked for privacy while they grieve.
The names of the other victims have not been released.
Two from the group of friends survived and were rescued along with four others, including a guide.
Avalanche warnings were set to expire early Friday, and dryer and milder conditions were predicted for the weekend, according to the Sierra Avalanche Center.
The slide is the deadliest in the U.S. since 1981, when 11 climbers were killed on Mount Rainier in Washington state.
The 15 skiers began their three-day trip Sunday just as warnings about the storm were intensifying. By early Tuesday, officials cautioned that avalanches were expected.
What the guides and their tour company knew about the warnings and why they pressed on is now part of investigations by local authorities and a state agency that regulates workplace safety.
Avalanche safety experts say it is not uncommon for backcountry skiers to go out when there is an avalanche watch or even a warning.
Blackbird Mountain Guides, which was leading the expedition, said the guides who were on the trek were trained or certified in backcountry skiing and instructors with the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education. While in the field, guides “are in communication with senior guides at our base, to discuss conditions and routing based upon conditions,” founder Zeb Blais said in a statement.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said some of his wife's “old family friends” were on the trip. The Newsoms have a home in Marin County, where some of the people on the trip lived. His office did not immediately provide more details.
“These were some experienced guides that were out there, and that’s what’s even more concerning and disturbing,” he said at a news conference Thursday.
Sekar and Clabaugh were sisters, their brother, McAlister Clabaugh, told The New York Times. Sekar was a mother of two who lived in San Francisco, and Liz Clabaugh worked for St. Luke’s Health System in Boise, Idaho, according to her LinkedIn page.
Vitt lived in San Francisco and worked previously at SiriusXM and Pandora, according to her LinkedIn page. The Kentfield School District sent an email to families Wednesday saying that her two sons “are safe and are with their father, Geoff, as they navigate this profound loss,” according to The New York Times.
Atkin lived with her husband and two children and was a former corporate executive and Division I Track & Field athlete, according to her leadership coaching website.
Some members of the group had ties to the elite Sugar Bowl Academy, a private boarding and day school for competitive skiers and snowboarders whose former students include multiple Olympians.
One of the victims was married to a member of a backcountry search and rescue team in the area, Placer County Sheriff Wayne Woo said.
Watson reported from San Diego, and Golden from Seattle. Associated Press writers John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio; Matthew Brown in Billings, Montana; R.J. Rico in Atlanta; and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed.
Adrián Narayan digs his car out of the snow Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, in Soda Springs, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Snow comes down on a dog as traffic is backed up and motorists exit their vehicles along interstate 80 during a storm Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, near Soda Springs, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
A California Highway Patrol vehicle is parked along a road during a snow storm Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, in Placer County, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Snow is plowed in front of businesses during a snow storm Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, in Soda Springs, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House announced a reciprocal trade agreement with Indonesia on Thursday while President Prabowo Subianto was in Washington to attend the first meeting of President Donald Trump's Board of Peace.
Under the agreement, Southeast Asia’s largest economy will eliminate tariffs for 99% of American goods while the U.S. will maintain tariffs on most Indonesian goods at 19%, the White House said. That is the same rate the U.S. has set for Cambodia and Malaysia. Indonesia also agreed to address non-tariff barriers to U.S. goods and to remove restrictions on exports to the U.S. for critical minerals and other industrial commodities, the White House said.
Indonesian and U.S. companies also reached 11 deals this week worth $38.4 billion, including purchases of U.S. soybeans, corn, cotton and wheat, cooperation in critical minerals and oil field recovery, and joint ventures in computer chips.
“We have negotiated very intensively over the last few months, and I think we have reached solid understandings on many issues," Prabowo told business executives Wednesday at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
A White House statement called it a “great deal" and said it “will help both countries to strengthen economic security, promote economic growth, and thereby continuously lead to global prosperity.”
The agreement was later signed by U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and his Indonesian counterpart.
The agreement was announced the same day that Prabowo, leader of the world’s most populous Muslim country, reiterated his pledge at the Board of Peace meeting to send 8,000 troops or “more if necessary” for an international stabilization force in Gaza.
Indonesia was among the first to make a firm commitment to a critical element of Trump’s postwar Gaza reconstruction plan.
“President Prabowo of Indonesia, thank you very much,” Trump said at the Board of Peace meeting. “It’s a big country you have, and you do a great job.”
Prabowo praised Trump in return. “We are very optimistic with the leadership of President Trump, this vision of real peace will be achieved,” Prabowo said. “There will be problems, but we will prevail.”
Cambodia and Vietnam are the two other Southeast Asian countries that joined the board, which was originally envisioned as overseeing the Gaza ceasefire but has taken shape with wider ambitions to broker other global conflicts.
Their leaders also came to Washington for the inaugural meeting. Cambodia has already inked a trade deal with the U.S., while Vietnam has reached a framework agreement.
Indonesian companies agreed this week to buy 1 million tons of soybeans, 1.6 million tons of corn and 93,000 tons of cotton from the U.S. They also pledged to buy up to 5 million tons of U.S. wheat by 2030.
The countries agreed to cooperate on critical minerals, though details were not immediately available.
Washington is seeking Indonesia’s agreement to lift restrictions on critical mineral exports, which the Trump administration argues could safeguard U.S. manufacturers from supply‑chain disruptions. The administration has sought to defend against China’s stranglehold on the key elements needed for everything from fighter jets to smartphones.
At the Chamber of Commerce event, Prabowo said Indonesia can serve as a “bridge” and “honest broker” between great powers, apparently referring to the U.S.-China competition.
At the Board of Peace meeting, Trump called Vietnam “incredible as a country and as a force” and told leader To Lam that it was “a really great honor to have you."
Lam's visit to the U.S. is his first since he was reelected as the head of Vietnam's ruling Communist Party last month. Typically, China is an initial stop in a nod to the countries' ideological ties and Beijing’s status as Vietnam’s largest trading partner. Lam did visit China in August 2024 before traveling to the U.S. during his first term.
Analysts say Lam's visit to the U.S. before traveling to Beijing this time around is a notable shift in sequencing. Hanoi describes its foreign policy as independent and balanced among major powers.
Trade negotiations between Vietnam and the United States are ongoing following the Trump administration levying 20% tariffs on Vietnamese exports. The latest, sixth round of talks concluded in early February.
Karmini reported from Jakarta, Indonesia, and Ghosal from Hanoi, Vietnam.
This story has been corrected to reflect that the presidents announced the deal but did not sign it. It was later signed by their representatives.
Vietnam's Communist Party General Secretary To Lam, left and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, during a Board of Peace meeting at the U.S. Institute of Peace, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio meets with Vietnamese Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung at the U.S. Department of State on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Tom Brenner)
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio meets with Indonesia's Foreign Minister Sugiono at the U.S. Department of State Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Tom Brenner)
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio meets with Indonesia's Foreign Minister Sugiono at the U.S. Department of State Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Tom Brenner)
President Donald Trump stands with other World leaders before a Board of Peace meeting at the U.S. Institute of Peace, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
