Tree that killed 19-year-old B.C. firefighter was flagged as dangerous before it fell: WorkSafeBC

Firefighters who were working alongside a 19-year-old woman who was killed when a burning tree fell on her last summer in British Columbia had expressed grave concerns about the large cedar before it fell.

Firefighters who were working alongside a 19-year-old woman who was killed when a burning tree fell on her last summer in British Columbia had expressed grave concerns about the large cedar before it fell.

But the danger was not addressed, according to a workplace safety investigation that found multiple violations and missteps by the B.C. Wildfire Service.

Devyn Gale died while she was cutting a downed tree into logs on a rugged hillside northwest of Revelstoke on July 13, 2023. Two other firefighters were injured trying to free her from the fallen tree.

Gale, along with a crew of six other wildfire fighters and one tree-faller, were helicoptered to the fire site that morning and began to clear trees and brush to create a fuel break around the flames.

Two other firefighters would join the crew to help clear a new helicopter site and an area to stage a portable water bladder to attack the fire.

The firefighters ate lunch with their supervisor at the bladder site while the tree-faller continued clearing trees.

During a lunchtime safety briefing, some of the firefighters raised concerns about three cedars they had identified the day before as potential hazard trees.