1 dead, 4 hurt in collapse at Wash. ice caves

SEATTLE — One person died and four people were hurt Monday in a partial collapse of the Big Four Ice Caves near Granite Falls, Snohomish County Sheriffs Office confirmed.

A helicopter airlifted two men and a woman to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Harborview spokeswoman Susan Gregg said the patients are a 20-year-old woman in satisfactory condition, a 35-year-old man in serious condition and a 25-year-old man in critical condition.

"They're all awake and alert, which is good news," said Gregg.

Their injuries ranged from head lacerations to leg fractures.

A juvenile was taken to Providence Hospital in Everett.

No information was released about the person killed in the ice cave.

The ice caves are located on Mountain Loop Highway in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.

Numerous signs warn people to stay away from the unstable and dangerous caves below Big Four Mountain in the Cascade Range. According to the Washington Trails Association website, the snow caves under an avalanche chute were formed by wind, melting snow and waterfalls from the above cliff.

The U.S. Forest Service warned hikers in May that the Big Four Ice Caves were in their "most dangerous state" because of unseasonably warm weather.

Temperatures have been in the 80s and 90s in the past week. Hikers to the caves have reported on the trails association website that they saw a lot of water running off around the caves and that sections of ice had broken off.

A video posted on YouTube by Sara Soleimani showed part of a roof collapsing on Sunday. No one was hurt.

Last December, a couple ignored warning signs and narrowly escaped an avalanche that came down in the area.

In 2010, Grace Tam, an 11-year-old girl, was killed by a falling chunk of ice.

The sheriffs office said the ice caves will be closed indefinitely.