Duty of Care

On Wednesday, October 14, 2026, at about 11 a.m., a 40-year-old worker was seriously injured when a boulder crushed him and pinned him against an excavator in a remote area near a power line off Rush Creek Road in the Feather River Canyon in Plumas County, California, according to Plumas County Search and Rescue as reported by KRCR and Sierra Daily News.

He suffered broken bones in his arm and leg and was bleeding. Other workers at the scene moved him to a spot where an air ambulance could land, and Sierra Regional EMS and Care Flight crews treated him before he was flown to a hospital. Search and rescue officials said the remote location made the emergency response take longer. The worker’s name, his employer, and the work being done had not been released.

Search and rescue officials warned that areas burned by wildfire have a higher risk of erosion and falling rocks, especially as wetter weather begins. Where a crew runs equipment below a slope, check the slope above before work starts and again after rain, keep people out of the path between loose rock and the machine, and plan a remote rescue before it is needed: how to call for help without cell service, where a helicopter can land, and who on the crew can control serious bleeding.

• KRCR
• Sierra Daily News