Man rescued after tree falls on him

Investigators say the drought is to blame

HOUSTON – The lack of rain and drought killed trees all over the Houston area, and one of those trees almost killed a local man.

Huffman volunteer fire chief Kevin Guillot said a 30-year-old tree trimmer was 30 to 40 feet up when he cut a limb.

That limb came back, hit and snapped the tree under him.

"It was unforeseen that this tree was actually rotten. When they cut the branches down, it appeared to be solid," Guillot said.

The property owner's daughter said workers had to cut the trees off of him in order to save his life.

"You can still see the imprint of where he was laying," Dawn Young said.

Young said her mom was having the trees cut down that died during the drought. She doesn't want the trees to fall on her home.

"It was a sick feeling. We were hoping he wasn't dead," Young said.

This is the second falling tree call the chief has received in six months. The first was fatal.

"In the seven years I've been here, it's the first I've seen. It's pretty apparent now that the drought damage has done," Guillot said.

The tree trimmer was flown to the hospital with two leg fractures and possible spinal injuries.

Firefighters believe the crew was doing everything right when the tree snapped.