A tree faller was killed when struck by a decayed slab jarred loose by a fallen tree. On a mountainside with 50 percent slope, he cut a hemlock snag (dead standing tree) that was 90 feet (27 meters) tall and 40 inches (101 centimeters) in diameter at the butt. The victim didn't remove obstacles such as brush, limbs, tools and windfalls to make an escape path near the snag before cutting it. About 24 feet (seven meters) uphill, a decayed fallen hemlock tree lay horizontally. The log was on top of two smaller parallel cedar logs. When the victim cut the snag […]