Boulder kills Myrtle Creek man at logging site

ROSEBURG, Ore. (AP) - Authorities say a boulder struck and killed a Myrtle Creek man at a Douglas County logging site.

The sheriff's office says 40-year-old Douglas Dean was operating a power saw and unable to hear co-workers warn that the boulder was rolling down a mountainside.

Dean died at the scene Monday. He had spent 21 years working for Dean Logging Inc., a company owned by his father. Dean's wife, Tanya, says her husband was a devoted family man and an avid outdoorsman.

The National AG Safety Database reports logging as one of the most hazardous industries in the United States for fatal injury. In the Pacific Northwest, there are additional hazards.  "Workers in Northwest forests can experience a range of terrain and stand characteristics," found its safety study, "including the challenges of steep slopes, dense stands, snags, wind falls, thick underbrush and a maze of downed wood."

- The News-Review originated this report