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2-year-old recovering after crushed by tree
A 2-year-old boy is recovering after he was seriously injured when a giant redwood tree crashed through his family's Boulder Creek home.
BOULDER CREEK, Calif. - A 2-year-old boy is recovering after he was seriously injured when a giant redwood tree crashed through his family's Boulder Creek home.
Strong winds Tuesday evening forced the tree into the home on Bobcat Lane, pinning little Milo Smith who was in the living room.
"The patient wasn't going to be able to be removed without removing that tree," said Fire Chief Mark Bingham of the Boulder Creek Fire Protection District.
And they had to hurry. First responders scrambled, trying to saw off enough of the tree to reach the toddler.
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"So we had crews on top of the roof and inside the structure in the living room where they were ultimately cutting away that weight and removing that off the patient, and then rendering aid as quickly as they could to control the situation," said Bingham.
Milo was in critical condition, but conscious and breathing on his own.
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Heavy winds inflict widespread damage
PG&E crews were busy cleaning up from strong winds that blew trees onto power lines and electrical equipment around the Bay Area and Northern California.
He was transported first to Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz, then to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center.
Authorities said the boy is now in stable condition, but he has serious skin wounds and is suffering from crush injuries to his lower body.
The Boulder Creek Fire Protection District was inundated with calls Tuesday night with high winds bringing down power lines and trees. Some of those calls came from an area that was hit hard by the CZU lightning complex fire not long ago.
"It's obviously tragic for the residents there and that patient. It's traumatic for the small community here that recently suffered some other losses. The hits keep coming, and we all can't wait for it to pause," said Bingham.
Milo Smith's family expressed gratitude to the community, first responders, and hospital staff, who came to the young boy's aid.
A GoFundMe page was set up to help the family whose home was badly damaged.