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'Very Large Branch' Kills Boy at California Summer Camp

It fell onto children, adults who had gathered under oak tree
Posted Jul 10, 2025 5:59 PM CDT

An 8-year-old boy was killed and at least four other people were injured when a huge branch fell from an oak tree at a summer camp in California on Wednesday. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department says the tragedy happened when children at Camp Wildcraft, an art and nature camp, were gathering under the tree at the end of the day, KABC reports. "They heard cracks and suddenly a very large branch fell on top of them," the sheriff's department said. "It is being estimated that it was (a) 25-30 foot branch." The camp was being held at King Gillette Ranch in Calabasas, around 30 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles.

The sheriff's department said an 11-year-old girl with a broken leg was airlifted to a hospital, a 5-year-old boy had cuts and a head laceration, a 22-year-old man had abrasions to his head, and a 73-year-old man sustained a concussion. KTLA reports that the camp was being held at the property for the first time this year because its previous home was affected by the Palisades Fire.

"We are devastated by the tragic loss of a young child at a summer camp at King Gillette Ranch in the Santa Monica Mountains," the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority said in a statement. The MCRA, which manages the park, said it is "fully committed to supporting a thorough and transparent investigation." ABC News reports that oak trees are protected in Calabasas under an ordinance that requires property owners to " maintain all oak trees and scrub oak habitat located thereon in a state of good health."

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