Tree falls, kills 1 scout and injures three others. (IN)

[RememberSchiff 3663]

An 11-year-old Girl Scout was killed when a tree fell in a "freak accident" at an Indiana campground on Monday, officials said.

A 10-year-old girl and two women were also injured in the incident.

The Perry County Sheriff's Office said it received a call at around 11:30 a.m. local time about a tree that had fallen on several campers and volunteers at Camp Koch, the Girl Scouts of Southwest Indiana's resident camp facility, nestled along the Ohio River near the small city of Cannelton.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/fallen-tree-kills-girl-scout-injures-indianas-camp/story?id=63925808

[SSScout 1615]

"If a tree falls in a forest..."

Trees can fail at any time, seemingly healthy trees may give way to wind,  rotted trunk centers,  formerly dry ground now saturated with water....

I would drive to work at 3:30am (!) every day.  I enjoyed the clear skies, quiet mornings, empty roads.   The first road I traveled went thru a wooded area.  One morning,  I was surprised as a BIG Oak fell across my path , just as I went under it.  It landed astraddle the road, with the hood of my car under it, the main trunk about 6" from my windshield.  I was able to back out, car untouched, me only adrenaline excited.  I phoned in the incident, and went on to work, on the wide shoulder of the road.   

I always urge my IOLS folks to consider looking up , not just around,  when setting up camp.  

 

[denibug72 17]

Just dealt with this on a BWCA trip.  My husband & I set up our hammocks with a spreader bar, so we were both connected to the same two trees.  The first night went by without incident.  At 1:30am the second night, we awoke as we hit the ground when the tree that the foot end of the hammocks was connected to gave way.  Still half asleep, we grabbed our gear & finished out the night in the tent.  Took a closer survey of the damage the next morning, and found that the center of the tree was rotted out.  Thankfully, it fell just to the side of the hammocks - missed me by about a foot.  Only damage we incurred was a busted shock cord on the corner of the rain fly closest to the tree - it could have been so much worse though.  Definitely taught us to double & triple check the trees we hang from, and to keep SPOT close to us at all times when we're on our BW trips.