Tree work incident report 18CA001: electrocution while trimming a palm, California
What California's FACE report 18CA001 says about a trimmer electrocuted on March 15, 2018 in a palm tree whose fronds reached within 10 feet of high voltage lines.
Checked against the sources at the bottom of this page on October 8, 2026. Rules, fees and pay change: the source has the last word.
This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. This page restates one official fatality report in our own words: case 18CA001 from the California Department of Public Health's Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation program, dated September 5, 2018. It covers a tree trimmer electrocuted on March 15, 2018 at a rented home. No one is named here or in the report. The table of every report we read is in the official case library for tree work incidents.
The job and the employer
A property management company hired a family-run tree business to remove a pepper tree and trim the palms at a single-story house. The report says the business was licensed by the city but was not a state-licensed tree service contractor, and no one on staff was a certified tree trimmer. The owner had bought the business three months before, and its six workers had all stayed on from the previous owner. None had formal tree trimming training, first aid or CPR training, or training in spotting electrical hazards, and there was no written injury and illness prevention program. Interviews with the crew needed a Spanish interpreter.
In the northwest corner of the back yard stood three palms and a utility pole carrying communication lines and primary and secondary high voltage lines. The tallest palm, over 50 feet, had fronds within 10 feet of the high voltage lines.
What happened
The crew of four reached the house at 12:30 p.m. after two earlier jobs. The foreman looked at the palms. When a crew member asked about the utility lines, he answered that he had seen them and thought they were a safe distance away. He and one worker then left for another job. The trimmer, working alone, put on climbing spurs and a safety belt, attached a chain saw to his belt and climbed the tallest palm.
At 2:15 p.m. the worker in the front yard finished his palms and heard a chain saw idling. After it idled for 15 minutes, he went to the back yard and found the trimmer arched backward in his belt, 40 feet up, not responding. The fire department arrived within five minutes and the electric company de-energized the area, which was done at 4:57 p.m. He was lowered 20 minutes later and pronounced dead at 5:20 p.m. The report records the cause as electrocution and concludes a trimmed frond probably touched the line, although no one saw it.
What the report recommends
The report recommends a job hazard assessment and briefing before work by a qualified tree worker who can judge electrical hazards, and that a qualified line-clearance tree worker do any trimming within 10 feet of energized high voltage lines, or that the utility be told so it can de-energize, ground or cover the lines. It also recommends that homeowners and property managers hire tree workers trained or certified by organizations such as the Tree Care Industry Association or the International Society of Arboriculture. The wider rules for work near lines are in the guide to working near power lines.
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