Avalanches occurred in the San Gabriel Mountains, above Los Angeles have killed three people so far, the authorities revealed. A fourth man managed to survive the deadly avalanches after taking a shelter overnight.

Reports show that the four were the only ones to be caught in the avalanches that took place at a ski resort in the mountains northeast of Los Angeles.

"As a result of the avalanches we have three dead and one survivor treated and released," Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Luis Castro said.

The man who succeeded to defeat the snow was identified as snowboarder Oscar Gonzales Jr., 24, of Westminster, who got lost when he left marked ski trails at the resort. He was fortunate to find an old airplane fuselage where he slept until he was rescued Saturday by the crew of a sheriff’s helicopter.

One of those unfortunate enough to be in the way of the avalanches was Michael McKay, a 23-year-old ski patrol member. He was off duty when the avalanche hit him near the Mountain High ski resort.

A fellow colleague at the ski patrol, Darren Coffey, was also killed in another avalanche while he was skiing. The 33-year-old was found buried in snow by the rescue teams after a desperate search but was later declared dead at a local hospital.

The third victim of the deadly avalanches was found on Saturday by the rescue teams and was identified as Christopher Allport, 60, a veteran character actor from Santa Monica. He was found less than 10 feet of snow about 9:45 near the Mountain High ski resort in Wrightwood.

Known as a busy actor who enjoyed almost 40 year of career, Allport played in “Man on a Swing” (1974), “Savage Weekend” (1979), “Dead and Buried” (1981), “Special Bulletin” (1983), “To Live and Die in LA”(1985), “Invaders from Mars” (1986), “Jack Frost” (1996) and “Jack Frost 2: Revenge of the Mutant Killer Snow Man” (2000) and his latest appearance in “Garden Party” (2008). He also appeared on many TV shows including “ER,” “Felicity” and “Matlock.”

The actor was familiar with the skiing. In a story written by him in the Los Angeles Times in 2004, he talked about the pleasures of the backcountry skiing.

“Any excursion into the mountains requires awareness,” he wrote. “Have fun, but be careful.”

Unfortunately for him, awareness was not sufficient for him to escape alive from the deadly avalanches. A little bit of luck would have saved him from the terrible death.

A warning was issued by the Southern California authorities to put the state’s inhabitants on high alert regarding the possible flash floods, mudslides and road closures.