Blue Buck Prescribed Fire Tree Strike Incident 2026

On March 19, 2026, a snag struck a sawyer during attempted mitigation efforts as part of prescribed fire operations on the Blue Buck Unit on the Mark Twain National Forest.

The incident occurred during an active operational period characterized by multiple prescribed fire activities and concurrent wildfire response across the forest, contributing to an elevated operations tempo. 

Following completion of ignition, resources transitioned to monitoring and mitigating hazardous trees within the fire perimeter. Post-burn conditions included actively burning snags, compromised wood structure, residual heat and lingering smoke. Saw teams worked independently in separate areas of the unit. As additional hazard trees were identified, the scope of work expanded beyond initial expectations. 

During these operations, a sawyer engaged a black oak snag. The tree fell in an unintended direction and struck the sawyer, resulting in serious injury. Personnel on scene immediately initiated communication and medical response.