By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
A 44-year-old Onalaska-area man was airlifted to a Vancouver hospital after he was struck in the back of the head by a falling tree on his property this morning.
For an unknown reason, he had run in front of an evergreen tree being dropped by a local logging outfit, according to Lewis County Fire District 1 Chief Mark Conner.
Firefighters called about 9:35 a.m. to Allen Road, off Middle Fork Road, found the victim unconscious but still breathing, Conner said.
The fire chief described the tree as about eight inches in diameter.
“It looked like he was hit and thrown clear,” he said.
The tree faller attempted to swing the tree away from the man, but unfortunately it had already begun to drop, Conner said.
The man was flown from a private airstrip off Forest-Napavine Road to Southwest Washington Medical Center, according to Conner.