Injured arborist rescued from treetop

LAKEVIEW — An arborist who was injured while topping a rotten fir tree was rescued after being stranded 80 feet in the air on Saturday.

“When he cut it, it broke and then the treetop hit him,” said Selkirk Fire Rescue & EMS Capt. Glen Cassidy.

The impact broke the man’s right arm and leg. The arborist, who was wearing a harness, was secured to the damaged tree by his partner.

A Two Bear Air chopper was summoned to rescue the man, although there was concern that rotor wash from the helicopter would topple the tree.

Selkirk conducted a high-angle rescue with webbing and pulleys. Cassidy said the injured arborist was transferred to Selkirk’s rope system and he was taken to Lake Pend Oreille, where a Timberlake Fire District boat picked him up. Cassidy said the man was later transferred to a Bonner County Sheriff’s Marine Patrol vessel and ultimately flow from the scene by Life Flight Network.

Cassidy said the man was stranded in the treetop for approximately two hours.

“He was hurt pretty bad,” said Cassidy, noting that the man suffered the ordeal with little complaint, even when his damaged limbs had to be moved in order to effect the rescue.

Gow said the rescue took 40-45 minutes and it was risky due to the height of the tree.

Selkirk Fire thanked Bonner County EMS, Lifeflight Network, Two Bear Air and Bonner Country Sheriff Marine 5,

“Timberlake Fire and all of the Lakeview Community for an incredible team effort to extract the man from the tree after a portion of it severely injured him,” the department said in a statement.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.