Abstract: Employee #1 and several other crew members were constructing a hand fire trail along one edge of the Pryor fire in Oakridge, OR. The crew was working uphill on an approximately 60 percent slope and through standing timber. The fire was burning approximately 20 ft away from the fire trail. All employees were wearing ppe. A crew member working below Employee #1 heard a popping sound and looked up and saw a small diameter pole falling from the fire area toward the fire crew. He yelled out a warning. Employee #1, whose back was to the falling pole, and others within hearing distance stopped to see what the employee was yelling about. When Employee #1 straightened up and turned to look up the hill, he was struck on the top of the head. He sustained fatal injuries. Employee #1 was pronounced dead by an on-site EMT. Emergency procedures were started, a stokes was airlifted in, and Employee #1 was transported to the railroad tracks by crew members. He was then taken to Oakridge, OR.