LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Downtown Truckee, California, is usually packed with visitors on Sunday after spending time on the slopes. Last night was different. The town came out to honor the victims of last week's avalanche, which killed nine people, the deadliest in California's history. Kat Fulwider from member station KUNR was there.
UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: (Singing) Amazing grace.
KAT FULWIDER, BYLINE: This town is hurting. On a clear, chilly evening, community members gathered outdoors in the heart of this mountain town in the Sierra Nevada range. People packed into the open air square to honor their fallen neighbors, family members and friends at the vigil. People gathered around nine blue wooden hearts, each displaying a name of those who died on a guided ski trip.
COURTNEY HENDERSON: 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.
FULWIDER: That is Vice Mayor Courtney Henderson, who shared messages of unity. People left flowers, origami peace cranes and wrote messages of love and memories on the wooden heart memorials. They exchanged hugs with one another.
PRESTON GREENE: 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.
FULWIDER: That is Preston Greene (ph), a Truckee resident of over three years. He says it's been important to support one another. Skiing is not only one of this town's economic drivers, but it is also ingrained in its culture. Paula Smith (ph) and her husband have been living here for around 30 years.
PAULA SMITH: I mean, 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're all here.
FULWIDER: For NPR News, I'm Kat Fulwider in Truckee, California.
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