On Sept. 8, 2025, while working on the Emigrant Fire on the Willamette National Forest, a tree hit a member of an Interagency Hotshot Crew who was working as a felling boss with a contracted felling module. The snag—a 75-foot buckskin hung in the canopy of a live hemlock—released unpredictably during cutting operations, striking the individual in the head, neck and spine. A rapid and complex medical response ensued, involving multiple crews, EMTs and air evacuation.

The learning review for this accident, which captures the perspectives and experiences of persons who responded to or witnessed the event, has now been published on the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center website.  

The Forest Service will use the information gathered to learn how the agency can reduce the possibility of similar events in the future.