Redmond man dies in firewood-cutting accident
A 76-year-old Redmond man cutting firewood on the Ochoco National Forest east of Prineville was killed Thursday afternoon when a blown-down tree he was cutting limbs off rolled on top of him, Crook County sheriff’s deputies said.
Deputies and Crook County Fire and Rescue were dispatched shortly after 1 p.m. to the reported woodcutter accident about two miles north of Forest Road 42 on the 200 Spur Road, near Big Summit Prairie, said Undersheriff John Gautney.
They learned that Terry Dean Dessenberger had been cutting firewood with a friend and was sawing a limb off a tree that had fallen at an angle when the weight shifted and the tree, 18 to 20 inches in diameter, rolled onto him, Gautney said.
The friend, who Gautney did not identify, rushed to Dessenberger’s aid and eventually was able to remove him from beneath the tree. He attempted CPR, but was unsuccessful.
No cellphone service was available in the area, Gautney said, so the friend drove to Road 42 and found a road crew, who returned with him to try to help. But again, efforts to save the man were not successful.
The sheriff’s office was assisted by Crook County Fire and Rescue and Forest Service law enforcement, Gautney said.
It was the second fatality in the woods east of Prineville in two days, both involving Redmond residents.
Daniel Williams, 30, was killed early Wednesday when his rig left a spur road off Northeast Duncan Road and crashed into a ravine. The load of logs moved forward when the rig stopped, and Williams was buried beneath them.
