The parents of an 8-year-old boy killed by a fallen tree branch at a summer camp in Calabasas filed a claim Monday, Nov. 17, against the camp and a government agency, claiming officials knew the tree posed a safety hazard and could have prevented the child’s death.
Lamar McGlothurn’s parents arrived to pick him up on July 9 from Camp Wildcraft at King Gillette Ranch and instead watched as an oak tree branch fell, killing their son.
His parents allege officials knew about the tree’s decay and the safety risk that it posed at least a week before Lamar’s death, when another branch fell from the tree. Officials didn’t take proactive steps to mitigate the hazard, even though the tree had visible decay, according to the claim.
The government claim filed against Camp Wildcraft, Gomez Landscape & Tree Care, Inc. and Mountains Recreation & Conservation Authority, the agency that manages King Gillette Ranch, is a necessary step before suing a public entity in California.
“This is something that they were plainly on notice of,” said Robert Glassman, an attorney representing the family. “It’s in writing in black and white.”
MRCA said its investigation into the death is ongoing and declined to comment further on pending legal matters.
“The MRCA will review the claim and complaint and respond at the appropriate time through the legal process,” the authority said in a statement. “From day one, the MRCA has been committed to a full, thorough, and transparent inquiry, with a proposed action plan to ensure that a tragedy like this never occurs again.”
Camp Wildcraft did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Records obtained by the Southern California News Group found that, on July 2, Scott Hughes, a park manager and maintenance supervisor at MRCA, sent a photo of a broken branch that wasn’t fully detached from the tree to another employee.
“Need dead wood and lightening of limbs too,” Hughes wrote.
The next morning, Hughes emailed Barbara Collins, the deputy chief of developed resources for MRCA, confirming that crews had serviced the trees. She forwarded the email to another employee, Matthew Ribarich.
“Want you to be aware of this,” she wrote. “This is that oak at the front of the park, side lawn across from pond that you are watching. Pics show the growth on the trunk that you are watching. Don’t know if this limb cracking has to do with the health of the tree, so thought I’d let you know.”
Later that day, a division chief responded, “Wow. That was a massive branch. Thank god that no one was seriously hurt or killed. Thank you so much for taking care of this. I would not have been able to sleep at night knowing that branch was just waiting to fall,” according to the government claim.
Gilbert Gomez, an employee with the tree care company, expressed concern about the decaying of the tree in a message sent July 8.
“It is somewhat concerning seeing all the decay at the trunk,” he wrote. “It would be wise to thin the canopy and alleviate end weight at a minimum to mitigate the risk.”
Despite these concerns from officials, no one stopped the children from gathering under the tree and even encouraged them to stand under it the day that Lamar died, according to the claim.
Glassman said Lamar’s parents hope to get answers from officials and raise awareness for other families to take precautions, like learning what owners and operators do to keep up with maintenance at their parks, before sending their children to summer camps.