An unfortunate accident happened in Yellowstone National Park today, resulting in the death of a visitor.
The visitor, a 36-year old man from Taiwan, was hiking the Fairy Falls trail with a group, north of Old Faithful. He had left the trail to ascend a tree laden slope at the time of the accident. While he was climbing, a lodgepole pine tree fell, striking him in the head.
Other visitors who witnessed the incident walked back to the trailhead and informed two park maintenance workers on the scene. They, in turn, informed Yellowstone law enforcement.
The victim was then moved to a location suitable for helicopter pickup. When attempts to resuscitate the man failed, he was declared dead at the scene.
Yellowstone rangers declared the lodgepole pine was a dead, standing remnant of the old forest that was burned in the 1988 Yellowstone wildfire. The incident is still under investigation.
At this time, the man’s name has not been released.