FORKS — A logger was airlifted to a Seattle hospital with critical injuries after he was injured on the job about eight miles west of Forks on Tuesday.
Douglas Larson, 46, of Forks was found by his co-worker Jimmy Leppell after he was struck by a tree at about 11:15 a.m. , suffering injuries to his left shoulder and back that the Clallam County Sheriff’s Department described as critical.
Larson was working on steep terrain alone off of the D-1000 logging road, said Sgt. Brian King of the Sheriff’s Department.
Larson was listed as stable, but was still under evaluation at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle on Tuesday night.
“He was working all by himself in that area, and no one witnessed the accident,” King said.
“It looks like he fell the tree upon himself, or maybe he undercut the tree and it came down on him at some point.
“We are not sure the manner in which it occurred — we don’t know if the wind might have picked up and caught it, or if he ran out of gas or something.”
Larson is employed by JDL Contracting Inc.
Because of the steep terrain and the severity of Larson’s injuries, a Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Coast Guard Group/Air Station Port Angeles flew to the scene with ground support from the Coast Guard station at the Quillayute River.
Larson was hoisted from the scene and flown to the Quillayute Airport, where Airlift Northwest took him to Harborview.
Also assisting were Forks Ambulance personnel, officers from the La Push Police Department and Quileute Fish & Wildlife enforcement, King said.
The state Department of Labor and Industries will investigate the incident, King said.
To view a video of the Coast Guard hoist visit http://cgvi.uscg.mil/media/main.php?g2_itemId=406415.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.
