DNA experts are preparing to test what are believed to be the remains of millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett, found in the wreckage of his plane.

The monster storm that has hit California with fierce winds and heavy rain dropped a thick blanket of snow on the Sierra Nevada mountains today and kept thousands of people from their homes in mudslide-prone areas.

Flight experts combing the Nevada wilderness for adventurer Steve Fossett have spotted several uncharted crash sites that may finally provide answers for families of those who took off into the desert sky decades ago, never to be heard from again.

As the US search for Steve Fossett enters its tenth day, experts say they doubt the millionaire adventurer could have survived more than a week in the rugged desert after his plane vanished.