Falling tree limb kills logger from Harmony

BRIGHTON PLANTATION – A logger was killed Monday morning when he was struck and crushed by a falling tree limb, according to officials.

Dale Stewart, 50, of Harmony was cutting in a wooded area at a logging site off Route 154, Somerset County Deputy Ritchie Putnam said late Monday.

Although other loggers were working in the vicinity, Stewart was by himself in the area where he was working, Putnam said.

Stewart apparently cut down a large tree that had entwined branches with a second tree that stood behind Stewart.

Putnam said that when the first tree fell, a large limb broke off the second tree, swung down behind Stewart and crushed him. The limb was about 9 inches in diameter, Putnam said.

Stewart’s body was found about 9:15 a.m. by the co-owner of R.J. Gilbert Co. of Wellington who was working nearby. He realized he had not seen Stewart come out of the woods, yet he could hear the skidder Stewart was using idling.

Because the death is considered a workplace accident, representatives from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration were on-site Monday afternoon, investigating the scene and interviewing Stewart’s co-workers, Putnam said.

He said Stewart had been wearing safety gear while working.

Putnam was assisted at the scene by Athens Fire Department and the Maine Warden Service.

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