Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 hours ago
On a Spring morning in the mountains of Northern California, a group of C-Evaluators and Regional Saw Program Managers were gathered for the final day of a national saw workshop. On the morning of the accident, the first task planned for the day was to complete the recertification, which would entail two qualified evaluators observing and formally assessing a felling operation performed by the recertifying faller. The tree he would cut was a 55” DBH, pistol-butted Douglas-fir on a steep slope.
The following sequence of events can be seen in the video: First, the faller verbalizes his intent to ‘bore the guts’ to the evaluators. He then steps downslope in front of the tree, lifts the powerhead and throttles up the saw. As he begins his boring cut, his right hand holds the throttle handle with a palm-down (pronated) grip; his left hand is located near the lower corner of the handlebar with a slightly supinated grip. The kickback occurs almost immediately.
For the full report, click here: lessons.wildfire.gov/incident/national-chainsaw-workshop-kickback-injury-2026
On a Spring morning in the mountains of Northern California, a group of C-Evaluators and Regional Saw Program Managers were gathered for the final day of a national saw workshop. On the morning of the accident, the first task planned for the day was to complete the recertification, which would entail two qualified evaluators observing and formally assessing a felling operation performed by the recertifying faller. The tree he would cut was a 55” DBH, pistol-butted Douglas-fir on a steep slope.
The following sequence of events can be seen in the video: First, the faller verbalizes his intent to ‘bore the guts’ to the evaluators. He then steps downslope in front of the tree, lifts the powerhead and throttles up the saw. As he begins his boring cut, his right hand holds the throttle handle with a palm-down (pronated) grip; his left hand is located near the lower corner of the handlebar with a slightly supinated grip. The kickback occurs almost immediately.
For the full report, click here: lessons.wildfire.gov/incident/national-chainsaw-workshop-kickback-injury-2026
