South Yak Fire Masticator Operator Fall 2021

On the South Yak Fire on the Kootenai National Forest, Montana, a contractor masticator operator fell approximately 15 feet off the masticator’s boom onto the machine’s tracks, injuring the operator’s side/ribs. The patient was transported by ambulance to a local community hospital, where the patient’s status was elevated due to a punctured lung and four broken ribs. The patient was then Life Flighted to the Kootenai Health Medical Hospital in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

[This data was provided by the USFS Weekly Summary Report.]

Fall, Medevac, Medical Emergency, Heavy Equipment