Humboldt: Worker Crushed to Death in Logging Accident

A logger died Thursday when he was crushed between two felled logs in a remote area of Humboldt County. (Photo: Panoramio)

A 54-year-old logger died in a work accident Thursday when he was crushed between two felled logs in a remote area north of Arcata.

•   A logger died while felling trees in a steep, densely wooded area about 20 miles north of Arcata.

•   No one saw the accident, so few details are known. Cal/OSHA is investigating the fatality.

•   It was the second logging accident in Humboldt County in two months.

The Humboldt County Coroner’s Office confirmed that Juan Eparaza Ruiz of McKinleyville was found dead at 2:30 p.m. near Crannell, an unincorporated community 20 miles north of Arcata, according to a report in the Eureka Times-Standard.

There is no cell phone service in the area, so the employer — Green Diamond Resource Company– was not aware of the accident until about 4 p.m., vice president and general manager Neal Ewald said in a statement released on Friday. California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) spokesperson Patricia Ortiz said the agency weas notified of the fatal accident at 4:45 p.m.

Eswald said the accident occurred eight miles east of Big Lagoon in the Panther Creek drainage, a tributary of Redwood Creek.

“Mr. Juan Ruiz was found by a coworker when he failed to return to his vehicle at the end of the day,” Ewald said in the statement. “Unfortunately, Mr. Ruiz succumbed to his injuries. Mr. Ruiz was an experienced timber faller and resided in McKinleyville. Our deepest sympathies go out to his family and friends.”

Deputy Coroner Roy Horton said the area where the accident happened is densely wooded with very steep terrain. Ruiz had flagged his path to help him get back out.

No one knows for sure what happened because Ruiz was alone at the time of the accident. He and a partner were cutting down trees near each other, but not within eyesight.

Ortiz said Cal/OSHA officials were at the scene on site Friday to conduct interviews, but it will probably take two to four moths to compete the investigation.

This was the first fatality on Green Diamond property in quite some time, but it was the second logging death in Humboldt County in the last two months. In December, 24-year-old Luis Javier Davila Escareño of Eureka was killed while skinning logs in an area off of Wrigley Road in Eureka. The Cal/OSHA investigation of that accident is ongoing.

Logging: A Hazardous Occupation

Logging is one of the most dangerous occupations in the United States, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

Only 90,000 workers were employed in the industry in 2009, but 50 of them were killed on the job. That fatality rate – 55.6 deaths per 100,000  – is 16 times greater than the overall death rate for U.S. workers.

What makes logging so dangerous?

 The tools and equipment such as chain saws and logging machines pose hazards wherever they are used. As loggers use their tools and equipment, they deal with massive weights and irresistible momentum of falling, rolling, and sliding trees and logs. The hazards are more acute when dangerous environmental conditions are factored in, such as uneven, unstable or rough terrain; inclement weather including rain, snow, lightning, winds, and extreme cold and/or remote and isolated work sites where health care facilities are not immediately accessible.  [U.S. Department of Labor]

California Workplace Accident Lawyers

The trial attorneys at Blackman Legal Group, a California-based law firm founded by renowned trial attorney Clifford Blackman, have successfully represented workplace accident victims and their families for 35 years. The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.