KTLA

Worker gets stuck 50 feet up a tree in Ventura County

A worker who was pruning a pine tree had to be rescued after getting stuck 50 feet off the ground in Ventura County on Saturday.

The rescue occurred in the 800 block of Crest Drive in Westlake where county fire crews arrived to find the man suffering from arm and leg injuries and stranded at the top of the partially trimmed tree.


Video released by the fire department shows crews using an aerial ladder to execute a “pick-off rescue.”

A firefighter was lowered to the man and secured him with ropes, then both were lowered to the ground.

The rescue occurred in the 800 block of Crest Drive in Westlake where county fire crews arrived to find the man suffering from arm and leg injuries and stranded at the top of the partially trimmed tree. May 13, 2023. (Ventura Co. Fire Department)

The victim was transported to Los Robles Medical Center in Thousand Oaks in stable condition, a fire department spokesperson said.

In April 2022, a tree trimmer died when he was found suspended upside down approximately 50 feet up a tree in Sherman Oaks.