Exposure to environmental heat · Effects of heat and light, n.e.c.
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at U.S. Forest Service, Bear Divide Station, SANTA CLARITA, CALIFORNIA 91387
on — Effects of heat and light, n.e.c., affecting the bODY SYSTEMS.
Final narrative
On or about May 31, 2016, an employee was hospitalized due to a heat-related illness while engaging in physical fitness training.
An employee was prepping a surface while on the roof when they fell approximately 13-16 feet. The fall propelled the employee up and forward onto a T-post and their eye/skull was impaled. The employee sustained injuries to their eyes, face, and feet.
An employee was performing finishing work on a residential driveway when they began to experience body cramps and were hospitalized for heat stress and dehydration.
An agent was participating in SWAT team selection and was performing various physical fitness skills including running and exercise intervals. The agent experienced dehydration and a muscular injury that required hospitalization.
On September 26, 2023, an employee was delivering packages when he began to feel ill with a pain in his side. He was hospitalized for heat exhaustion and dehydration.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 115310)
An employee was loading the back of his truck with buckets of oil. As he was coming down off the truck, he slipped on a surface that was wet due to rain and fell about 3.5 feet to the ground, landing on his left elbow/arm. The employee was hospitalized with a fractured left humerus and required surgery.
On September 25, 2025, an employee climbed an aluminum extension ladder and was on top of the roof of a building She was walking around on the roof, inspecting and evaluating it. She was descending the ladder when the ladder slid to the right and twisted around as she hung onto it. She then fell 10-12 feet to the paved parking lot and the ladder landed on top of her. She sustained a fractured left collarbone, multiple other fractures, and had bruising to the left side of her abdomen.
An employee was riding a horse and leading several pack mules along a trail. A few mules started acting up, causing the horse to stir. The employee then fell off the horse and landed on a stiff woody protrusion that impacted her chest/rib area. The employee was hospitalized with a fractured rib and a punctured lung.
An employee was working on a tree thinning unit and was cutting a 6" diameter tree. During the back-cut when the chainsaw kicked back. The saw struck her, resulting in a 3-inch laceration on her left leg below the knee. She was hospitalized and required surgery.
The injured employee was assisting a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) enforcement operation. During an apprehension, officers returned fire at a subject and struck the employee with a bullet. The employee sustained a gunshot wound to their right hand.
The injured employee was assisting in the disassembly phase after a radar array had been lowered and secured. The crew began removing load bearing pins from an overhead crane to free the radome. A load bearing pin was stuck. The injured employee went to remove the pin manually as a second team member applied pressure from the opposite side. The pin unexpectedly released and struck the injured employee s right thumb, resulting in partial amputation of the distal phalanx including an open distal phalanx fracture and nail bed laceration.
At about 3:10 p.m. on October 3, 2025, an employee was inspecting a car. Two dogs that had been in another car were leashed and tethered to a bollard. As the employee inspected the first car along with a narcotics detection dog, one of the other dogs came loose and attacked the narcotics dog. The employee was separating the dogs when the other dog bit his left ring finger. The last joint of the finger was injured and part of it was bitten off.
An employee was preparing a bundle of green onions for chopping. While holding the bundle in his left hand, he made his first cut using a 9-inch kitchen knife held in his right hand. The knife contacted the tip of his left thumb, resulting in an amputation of approximately 0.5 inches of the thumb that required hospitalization.