An 8-year-old boy who was killed when a massive oak tree branch fell on him and four others at a camp at King Gillette Ranch, located in the Santa Monica Mountains in an unincorporated area near Calabasas, was identified Monday.
A total of five people — the boy who did not survive, one other boy, a girl and two men — were injured at Camp Wildcraft in the 26000 block of Mulholland Highway at around 2:50 p.m. last Wednesday, according to the Los Angeles County Fire and Sheriff’s departments.
The boy who was killed was pronounced dead at a hospital. He was identified Monday by the Ventura County Medical Examiner’s Office as Lamar McGlothurn of Los Angeles.
The girl, 11, suffered a broken leg and was airlifted from the scene and taken to a hospital, the sheriff’s department reported.
A 5-year-old boy sustained cuts and a head laceration. One of the adults, a 22-year-old man, sustained abrasions to his head and a bruised arm. The other man, 73, sustained a concussion, according to the sheriff’s department.
Lamar had been sitting at a picnic table when the branch fell, according to a broadcast report.
Aerial footage from the scene showed a large broken tree limb.
The victims were gathered in the shade of the tree at the end of a hot day, according to the sheriff’s department.
“They heard cracks and suddenly a very large branch fell on top of them,” according to a department statement. “It is being estimated that it was a 25- to 30-foot branch from an oak tree.”
The Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, which manages the 588 acres of public park land, said it was collaborating closely with the sheriff’s department and other relevant organizations to thoroughly investigate the matter, asserting it is committed to conducting a transparent and comprehensive investigation.
“We are devastated by the tragic loss of a young child at a summer camp at King Gillette Ranch in the Santa Monica Mountains,” a statement from the organization said. “Words cannot express the depth of our sorrow. Our hearts are with the child’s family, friends, and all those affected by this unimaginable tragedy.”
The camp is usually held in Pacific Palisades but was moved to the King Gillette Ranch because of the Palisades Fire, according to various reports.
Anyone with additional information was urged to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500.