South Rim Fire Chainsaw Cut 2025

On the South Rim Fire in Colorado on July 19 2025, a crew was removing trees adjacent to a completed dozer line that was intended to be used for a burnout within the coming days. While limbing a 10-inch diameter juniper, a sawyer pinched the bottom of the chainsaw bar in a 3-inch limb when the cut was approximately 90 percent completed. The limb was visually covered by dead limbs of the same juniper.

The sawyer, who was not directly working with a swamper, reached forward to move the limb to free the bar from the tree while maintaining his right hand on the trigger handle. As he reached forward, he inadvertently activated the throttle. The sawyer’s left hand contacted the top of the chain while it was running at cutting speed, causing severe injury to the sawyer’s hand.