Mendocino National Forest Hit by Tree Fatality 1962

John Coleman, a 20-year-old college student from Chico, California, was fatally injured by a falling snag while assigned to a lightning fire on the Mendocino National Forest located 20 miles northwest of Paskenta. Coleman, a U.S. Forest Service seasonal employee, was engaged in cutting down a burning tree when he was struck by the snag (whether it was the tree he was cutting is not known). The tree strike severely injured both legs. Coleman remained in place while his fellow firefighters treated him for an hour as they attempted to draw the attention of another group of firefighters with a radio. When the injury was reported via radio, a Los Padres National Forest helicopter assigned to the Mendocino National Forest brought a doctor to the area and dropped a chainsaw to the firefighters on the ground. A small helispot was cut and the doctor was flown in, though the spot was not big enough to completely land. Coleman was packaged and flown out to Corning Memorial Hospital, where it landed at 1650. Time since the injury first occurred was more than six hours. Coleman was rushed to surgery, where--after numerous successful resuscitations--he passed away at 0435, Saturday, July 29. 

Hit by Tree, Fatality, Medevac, Initial Attack