The trails of Tuolumne Grove, a popular site in Yosemite National Park, wind through forests of pine and giant sequoias, the largest trees on earth. On July 19, after hiking about a mile into the grove, Angela Lin, 29, and her friends heard a snapping sound above them.
“Two to three seconds later, branches fell out of the sky,” Ms. Lin’s friend, David Hua, told SFGate. “One big branch struck Angela and then there were a bunch of smaller ones directly behind me.”
Mr. Hua said he closed his eyes as the branches crashed down. When he opened them, he saw Ms. Lin on the ground, blood pooling around her head. He called 911 and performed CPR until a ranger took over.
This week, the Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office released a statement about the incident, identifying Ms. Lin and saying that an autopsy had determined that her death was accidental, resulting from blunt injuries. It said a ranger had responded at about 6 p.m. that day after reports that a hiker had been fatally struck by “falling portions of a tree.”
The news has generated interest in the accident, a rare occurrence along a popular trail in one of the nation’s busiest national parks. News reports have focused on the allure of venturing into the wilderness despite its potential risks.
Falling branch deaths are uncommon but not unheard of. Two campers died after a branch fell on their tent in Yosemite in 2015.
Angela Shih Lin was born in Los Angeles, but lived in Mountain View, Calif., according to a memorial notice. She worked at Google as a software engineer, according to her LinkedIn profile. The company said in a statement that it “lost a loved and respected member of our team.”
Mr. Hua and Ms. Lin’s family did not respond to requests for comment.
Mr. Hua created a fund-raiser in Ms. Lin’s name after she died to benefit public media in the San Francisco area. In it, he said Ms. Lin “cherished nature and the outdoors,” including mountain hikes. He told SFGate that she was cautious when on hikes.
“She never goes off trails,” he said. “So usually, when you hear about these incidents, someone is doing something dangerous, like playing in water or near a cliff or something.”
He added: “There’s nothing we could have done to predict or prevent this.”
Vehicle crashes, drownings and falls are the top three leading causes of unintentional deaths in U.S. national parks, according to mortality data in a five-year period through 2019.
Tuolumne Grove is known for its nearly three miles of trails through majestic forests and for a tunnel carved through one of its giant trees. From the trailhead, hikers walk about a mile among ponderosa and sugar pines before reaching a mixed conifer forest with the soaring giant sequoias.
Elisabeth Barton, a founder of the Echo Adventure Cooperative, which gives tours in the park, said that when visitors asked her about dangers in the parks, she usually mentioned mountain lions, bears, waterfalls and rock slides. Falling branches from a sequoia, which can reach 320 feet tall with a single branch as big as eight to 10 feet around, are not usually on her list
“All of those trees are very, very big,” she said. “It is a freak accident unfortunately.”
Ms. Barton was guiding a group on a popular “hike and BBQ” tour on July 20, a day after Ms. Lin died, when she discovered that law enforcement officials had blocked access to the trail. Ms. Barton said she had never before been turned away from the grove.
The perils of branches falling from above are part of trail lore. Ms. Barton said she had a close call in 2009 on the Appalachian Trail when she woke up to find a tree had fallen two feet from her tent. A trail acquaintance once narrowly missed a limb hitting his head, and has since been called “Duck.”
“It really is a situation where we are entering the wilderness and anything can happen,” she said. “It is another sign that the wilderness can be wild.”
Christine Hauser is a Times reporter who writes breaking news stories, features and explainers.
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