Shortly before noon Monday, a 911 call was made to report an industrial accident and fire at an orchard located at 7855 N. Valentine Ave. in Fresno. Fresno County Sheriff’s deputies, Fresno Fire and American Ambulance responded and found a 79-year-old, Jim Andree, who was deceased.
A preliminary investigation shows Andree was hired by the owner of Rancho Rio Del Sol to trim walnut trees on a piece of private property. Andree was inside the steel basket of a Tree Squirrel, which is a piece of machinery featuring a pruning and picking tower. He raised up the tower and came in contact with a live power line, which resulted in a fire. Two employees at the neighboring San Joaquin Country Club called 911, then quickly grabbed a garden hose and extinguished the fire. However, Andree’s injuries were too severe to overcome.
Relatives of the victim say he was not what is considered to be a professional tree trimmer, but had experience performing this type of work.
PG&E crews responded to repair the damaged electrical line. The Division of Occupational Safety and Health (a.k.a. Cal/OSHA) also responded to conduct an investigation.
