# Accident Today



## slowp (Aug 18, 2009)

Today on the Skagit side, a faller was hurt. He was falling a tree, looked up, and right when he looked up, a limb came down--broke his hardhat (plastic) and took a chunk out of his cheek. They didn't know whether his jaw was broken or not. 

Earlier he'd been stung by bees. Not a good day.


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## Jacob J. (Aug 18, 2009)

That's a tough day for sure. I never did like thinning all that much. I hope he's ok.


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## hammerlogging (Aug 20, 2009)

Hooker (i.e chokesetter) got bit by a copperhead Tues. Didn't get him too bad I guess, didn't get the real bad sickness/ swelling. Overnight in the hospital though, for monitoring.

evil little ####ers.

The auto sensoring sure is convenient.


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## Greystoke (Aug 20, 2009)

*Snakes!*



hammerlogging said:


> Hooker (i.e chokesetter) got bit by a copperhead Tues. Didn't get him too bad I guess, didn't get the real bad sickness/ swelling. Overnight in the hospital though, for monitoring.
> 
> evil little ####ers.
> 
> The auto sensoring sure is convenient.



I hate snakes! I remember being deathly afraid of water moccasins the first week or so when I was sent by Columbia to cut timber in the swamps of Florida.
every time a stick would float by I would jump. I finally realized that the overstory of the timber, combined with working in water and mud, was a hell of a lot more dangerous. Hope that guy will be alright.


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## redprospector (Aug 21, 2009)

hammerlogging said:


> Hooker (i.e chokesetter) got bit by a copperhead Tues. Didn't get him too bad I guess, didn't get the real bad sickness/ swelling. Overnight in the hospital though, for monitoring.
> 
> evil little ####ers.
> 
> The auto sensoring sure is convenient.



I hate Copperheads, and Cotton Mouths. They'll sneak up on you and bite you just for meanness. At least the snakes around here rattle at you before they bite. At my elevation there's nothing but an ocasional garter snake.

Andy


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## redprospector (Aug 21, 2009)

slowp said:


> Today on the Skagit side, a faller was hurt. He was falling a tree, looked up, and right when he looked up, a limb came down--broke his hardhat (plastic) and took a chunk out of his cheek. They didn't know whether his jaw was broken or not.
> 
> Earlier he'd been stung by bees. Not a good day.



How's that faller doing?
I hate those plastic hard hat's.

Andy


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## garmar (Aug 21, 2009)

They had a piece about the snakes in Texas being a lot worse than usual due to drought conditions this year. Snake bites are way up.

Be safe out there, guys.


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## bullbuck (Aug 21, 2009)

redprospector said:


> I hate Copperheads, and Cotton Mouths. They'll sneak up on you and bite you just for meanness. At least the snakes around here rattle at you before they bite. At my elevation there's nothing but an ocasional garter snake.
> 
> Andy


they arent quite to this elevation yet,but we were out behind c. walkers place logging a couple years back in 16 sprngs.elev.7000to7500and we came accross a very large diamondback that meant businness,charles said he had never seena rattler up that high before,now he sees them all the time,keep your eyes peeled...it caught us by surprise,luckily noone got bit!


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## slowp (Aug 21, 2009)

redprospector said:


> How's that faller doing?
> I hate those plastic hard hat's.
> 
> Andy



I haven't heard. But I think worse than his dad thought. They have not worked since. His dad thought they'd be right back at it. Their chaser went back to football practice so without the injured guy, they are too short handed.


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## 2dogs (Aug 21, 2009)

We are 3 weeks into a 6 week vegetation management project. I didn't work the first week but one of the swampers cut his arm with the saw. It took (I think) 10 stitches on the inside and 20 on the outside to put him back together. He talked a big game but cut himself the first week. He was put on another job this week and I guess he didn't do anything quite so stupid.

BTW when I got back to my truck yesterday there was a dead snake hanging on the mirror.


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## redprospector (Aug 22, 2009)

bullbuck said:


> they arent quite to this elevation yet,but we were out behind c. walkers place logging a couple years back in 16 sprngs.elev.7000to7500and we came accross a very large diamondback that meant businness,charles said he had never seena rattler up that high before,now he sees them all the time,keep your eyes peeled...it caught us by surprise,luckily noone got bit!



Yeah, this draught has the weather all screwed up, I think that's what's bringing the snakes this high. I've seen a few in Carr Gap (just across the ridge from Walker's). Used to, the only time you'd see a rattler was if it hitched a ride on a load of hay, or chillies coming through.

Andy


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## 2dogs (Aug 22, 2009)

redprospector said:


> Yeah, this draught has the weather all screwed up, I think that's what's bringing the snakes this high. I've seen a few in Carr Gap (just across the ridge from Walker's). Used to, the only time you'd see a rattler was if it hitched a ride on a load of hay, or chillies coming through.
> 
> Andy



The ranch I lived on stored all its hay in an old barn. The loose hay was always scary to walk through during the summer.


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## slowp (Aug 24, 2009)

*Update*

He came back to work today, after a trip to get the stitches out. I guess he also got x-rayed because his jaw was still sore, and it is fractured. He didn't know for sure whether he needs to buy a blender or not. 

He said he looked up to see that the tree was going over right and got nailed. He's got a nice new plastic orange hardhat.


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## arborist (Aug 24, 2009)

OUCH!
ah man,what a bad day that was!
thanks for the news and update.
hope he has a full recovery.
dangerous job felling all day.
loggers have it tough at times.
all prayers and hopes for the best from an arborist.
god bless and be safe fellow woodsman.


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## bullbuck (Aug 24, 2009)

slowp said:


> He came back to work today, after a trip to get the stitches out. I guess he also got x-rayed because his jaw was still sore, and it is fractured. He didn't know for sure whether he needs to buy a blender or not.
> 
> He said he looked up to see that the tree was going over right and got nailed. He's got a nice new plastic orange hardhat.



according to my boss from when he broke his jaw,he said the doc told him if you break your jaw it breaks both sides pretty much everytime,he was working the blender for quite some time,his wife told me she really enjoyed having his trap wired shut!shes a real sweetheart!lol anyways hope the faller is o.k.injuries are no fun


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## BarkBuster20 (Aug 24, 2009)

hearing that, my broken knee dont seem so bad.


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## bullbuck (Aug 24, 2009)

BarkBuster20 said:


> hearing that, my broken knee dont seem so bad.


couldnt be good either?knees are pretty crucial,i am just back to about maybe 80%on my left knee after my crf450 shrugged me off rolling about 50 or so,wow its been over two years now?hope you dont have ligament damage


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## BarkBuster20 (Aug 25, 2009)

bullbuck said:


> couldnt be good either?knees are pretty crucial,i am just back to about maybe 80%on my left knee after my crf450 shrugged me off rolling about 50 or so,wow its been over two years now?hope you dont have ligament damage



no ligament damage, but my kneecap is broken, havent been to the doctor, but now the swelling is down after about 3 weeks and its very obviously broken pretty much in half.


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## bullbuck (Aug 25, 2009)

BarkBuster20 said:


> no ligament damage, but my kneecap is broken, havent been to the doctor, but now the swelling is down after about 3 weeks and its very obviously broken pretty much in half.


just my two cents,but even if you cant afford it ,go get it checked out!!!it could not hurt,i dislocated my hip severely in a different mishap,and the doc told me that the whole damn hip had a chance of dying!ya got my attention real quick!just find a way to prove you dont make any money and file indegent,just make sure you do your paperwork!it will be worth it


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## tramp bushler (Aug 25, 2009)

How old was the one that broke ???? That is the BIG problem with plastic hard hats ... The sun makes them just a good rain hat thats all ..... He should get a Skull Bucket ..


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## Gologit (Aug 25, 2009)

BarkBuster20 said:


> no ligament damage, but my kneecap is broken, havent been to the doctor, but now the swelling is down after about 3 weeks and its very obviously broken pretty much in half.



Better get that checked...and real soon, too. If it doesn't heal properly, and it won't without medical care, it will haunt and hurt you the rest of your life.

Ask me how I know.


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## RandyMac (Aug 25, 2009)

Bob is right on it, go get it checked. Don't be a knothead like I was, the Manly Man press on regardless of injury will indeed haunt you, structure failure in later life will cost more to fix, then a fresh injury. I have had two woods related "events" to my right shoulder, used the duct tape fix, kept working, now I have bones roaming around loosely, I'm about half worthless on the right now. 

The sins of your youth, will indeed be visited upon your middleage.


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## tramp bushler (Aug 25, 2009)

When I posted what I did I hadn,t seen bark busters post ....... Bark buster , Were all tougher than twisted cougar #### on here , but you need to have a doctor check your knee out ............ Ya know why alot of top football highschool and college players don,t work in the brush ..... They CAN'T ... They were too tough and now their bodies don,t work ...... I found that out guiding ... Most of those guys would give their left you know what to be able to walk up a mountain ...... One time I stuck the outside dog of an 064 thru my knee cap . Man did that hurt .. I went to the doc , it was on workers comp . So they paid for the flight to town .. That knee works fine , Thank God !!!!! But it was good to get some professional advice ................. Doctors are kind of like Professional Fallers , or Pro Arborists ..... They actually Know what they are doing .!!!!!! Sometimes you can,t be one without the other .......


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## BarkBuster20 (Aug 25, 2009)

tramp bushler said:


> When I posted what I did I hadn,t seen bark busters post ....... Bark buster , Were all tougher than twisted cougar #### on here , but you need to have a doctor check your knee out ............ Ya know why alot of top football highschool and college players don,t work in the brush ..... They CAN'T ... They were too tough and now their bodies don,t work ...... I found that out guiding ... Most of those guys would give their left you know what to be able to walk up a mountain ...... One time I stuck the outside dog of an 064 thru my knee cap . Man did that hurt .. I went to the doc , it was on workers comp . So they paid for the flight to town .. That knee works fine , Thank God !!!!! But it was good to get some professional advice ................. Doctors are kind of like Professional Fallers , or Pro Arborists ..... They actually Know what they are doing .!!!!!! Sometimes you can,t be one without the other .......



yeah...my knee seems to work just fine, but its almost in half. dont know what they would be able to do for it..but your right i need to get in. and wow i imagine a dog through the knee cap would be pretty painfull, but is simular to the injury on my left knee, i had a rock basicly punch a hole in my knee cap and it split sideways accross my knee. now that the swelling is down i can feel every little detail. iv considerd going back to work on it, but im afraid ill wack it on something and hurt it worse, but i know if i get surgery,ill be laid up for a while. but i am 100% going to atleast go in and have them look at it, get a professionals opinion. im still kinda in disbelief that my kneecap is broken even though its almost been a month. im used to not getting medical attention, dislocated hip never went to the doctor, dislocated shoulder, never went to the doctor. i think this will be different though. and i dont wanna ruin my career in the brush before it really gets off to a good start.


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## BarkBuster20 (Aug 25, 2009)

and thanks for all the advice on going to the doctor, i will take that advice.


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## Gologit (Aug 25, 2009)

BarkBuster20 said:


> and thanks for all the advice on going to the doctor, i will take that advice.



Good.


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## 2dogs (Aug 27, 2009)

We are finding, the hard way, 2 to 3 yellow jacket nests per day. I was stung just once yesterday and 2 other guys were stung a half dozen times each today. We all use a sting ease product but so far no Benadryl. The professional bee lady even got stung twice today when the yellow jackets got into her hood.


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## ropensaddle (Aug 27, 2009)

arborist said:


> OUCH!
> ah man,what a bad day that was!
> thanks for the news and update.
> hope he has a full recovery.
> ...



Yup +1


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## smokechase II (Aug 27, 2009)

*Please*

*"and thanks for all the advice on going to the doctor, i will take that advice."*

--------------------

You do realize that going to a Doctor on a medical issue is the same as going to a gas station and asking for directions?

==============

Real men can hold their urine.


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## hammerlogging (Aug 27, 2009)

2dogs said:


> We are finding, the hard way, 2 to 3 yellow jacket nests per day. I was stung just once yesterday and 2 other guys were stung a half dozen times each today. We all use a sting ease product but so far no Benadryl. The professional bee lady even got stung twice today when the yellow jackets got into her hood.



Just yesterday it seemed to all change, was the time of year where you could stir them up, they'd just buzz around their hole, now its the late summer "We're mean, we're pissed, and we're gonna find who pissed us off".

We're in em too. Watch for traffic, try and stay away.


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## slowp (Aug 27, 2009)

Yesterday, the hooktender told me about a tree needing paint on it. He warned about 2 nests in the area. I made it up and down with no stings. His crew said the bees weren't too horrible. But then, when I got back to the landing, the hooktender wanted to know why he got stung so much, and why I didn't. 

One theory is that I'm slow moving so maybe don't attract their attention. But I did get stung by some slow moving bees last November. 

Since I could smell the hooktender's fabric softener or cologne, I hinted that maybe that was a lure for bees. He said he'd talk to THE WOMAN about that.
I gave him a little lesson in terms of endearment. I replied, "THE WOMAN?"
He said well, that was better than the OLD LADY. What else could he call her? I answered, how about honey? Dear? A light went on in his eyes.

Maybe some people have bad bee karma. 

Now, since I've said I haven't been stung much, I'll be cursed for today!


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## 2dogs (Aug 27, 2009)

hammerlogging said:


> Just yesterday it seemed to all change, was the time of year where you could stir them up, they'd just buzz around their hole, now its the late summer "We're mean, we're pissed, and we're gonna find who pissed us off".
> 
> We're in em too. Watch for traffic, try and stay away.



Where we are working in the river bottom the vegetation is too thick to see traffic around a nest. We usually find the nest by being stung.


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## smokechase II (Aug 27, 2009)

*Jackets*

We had a guy with cologne on a fire. (Eventually went to work for the Border Patrol)

Small 1/4 acre fire and everyone was dressed in the same great colors.

He got stung in two different attacks. The rest of us were unblemished.

He never mentioned a lady. Perhaps he was trying too hard.

===============

I had Inmates hand piling in an area 3 falls ago where there were thousands of yellow Jackets randomly scattered about. They weren't aggressive, just there.
All you had to do was ignore the 4 - 6 that would circle you for hours because of the moisture from your sweat. On this one tree there must have been a thousand. It was a snag with some moisture.

If you spazzed out - went into a swatting fit (doing Australian salutes) you were toast.

================

My favorite way to kill jackets is with gasoline.

Take a margarine container with 1/2" of gas in it. Place over nest under a wood roof and slide it over keeping the top of said container against the surface preventing any escapes. Then carefully slide the lid on top and close.

Shake once while holding lid securely,

Gasoline is powerful stuff in many ways.

Burn them - although unnecessary - for effect.


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## tramp bushler (Aug 27, 2009)

*Gasoline hornet trap !!*

I,m going to remember that !!!! .. .............. I always wondered what to do with a can of live P O d wasps .......Thanks !!!


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## demographic (Aug 27, 2009)

bullbuck said:


> according to my boss from when he broke his jaw,he said the doc told him if you break your jaw it breaks both sides pretty much everytime,he was working the blender for quite some time,his wife told me she really enjoyed having his trap wired shut!shes a real sweetheart!lol anyways hope the faller is o.k.injuries are no fun




Broke mine a while ago and only one side went, got it plated up and it hurt like hell eating for quite some time.

Spat a little bit of bone after it worked its way out as well.


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## bullbuck (Aug 27, 2009)

a few years ago i was cutting on a burn salvage,and was sawing on a good sized fir that the fire had burned its way up into the center of the tree,creating a hollow(with residents)i might add.those yellowjackets could have cared less that i was sawing on their tree,but when that sucker hit the ground!man they were on me like flys to you know what,they even got me twice in the neck,and a few more in other various places,those stings lasted all day long


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## bullbuck (Aug 27, 2009)

demographic said:


> Broke mine a while ago and only one side went, got it plated up and it hurt like hell eating for quite some time.
> 
> Spat a little bit of bone after it worked its way out as well.



as i knock on my oak computer desk,i sure hope i never have to go through that injury!


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## hammerlogging (Aug 27, 2009)

Our snake bit hooker had his first day back, finger still swolen and can't bend, otherwise ok, but when I was walking out (ah, cutters schedule) they were still logging and he got hit by 4 or 5 yellowjackets down in the bottom of a hole. Poor guy, heard it on the chest radio. I'm just glad he's back in action, hell of a dude, not a complaint.

I was close to the loggers yesterday and could warn them about 2 nests, and a bee tree (honey) all in one block.


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