Rescuers to Cut Back Snowboarder Search : Avalanche: Officials worry about risk of more slides endangering people seeking Costa Mesa man.

After another day of fruitless effort by 70 volunteers, officials decided late Sunday to limit the continuing search for the Costa Mesa snowboarder lost in a Mt. Baldy avalanche last week.

At one point Sunday, rescuers dug about 15 feet when a metal detector sounded off several times, but they still hadn’t found anything by dusk, when the day’s search for Mike Pilotti, 24, had ended.

Searchers also became excited when dogs picked up possible human scents, but again, nothing resulted.

“Every time the dogs show an interest we’ll dig it up,” said the search’s commanding officer, Sheriff’s Capt. Dennis Gram. “Sometimes it’s a tree, a squirrel or a piece of cloth. They could be 30 feet deep . . . and the scent could travel under the cracks. That’s why it’s important to probe very thoroughly.”

But after days of operating in harsh conditions, officials decided to reduce the volunteer force to 15 when the search resumes today.

“Some of these guys have been in the field since 8 o’clock this morning,” said John McCallum of the Mt. Baldy Fire Department. “They are working at 8,000-feet elevation in weather that is in the 20s and 30s. They are cold and tired,” he said.

Most of the rescuers are volunteers from surrounding cities and counties who have been combing the snow all week. Officials said the rescue effort will be smaller as some volunteers return to their regular jobs, or simply rest.

Another complication that will reduce the scope of the search is slope conditions.

The weekend’s bright and sunny weather helped rescuers see better while digging with 10-foot poles, but if the warmth continues into the week, officials are worried melting snow could endanger the rescuers by increasing the possibility of further avalanches.

“If the weather stays warm, the existing fractures will let loose and come down. That could put our people in imminent danger,” said Gram.

Pilotti had snowboarded into a hazardous area with a friend, Larry Beard, when an avalanche occurred. Beard crawled his way out, but Pilotti is believed to have been buried. Rescuers say the weight of the snow he could be under is tremendous and every day lessens his chances for survival.

Pilotti’s family flew in from New York and has been monitoring the rescue efforts from a nearby trailer, arriving every morning around 9 and leaving after the day’s search is called off.