A tree trimmer died after becoming trapped roughly 35 to 40 feet above the ground while working on a tree near the 3900 block of Horton Road in Bonita. Fire crews managed to lower the worker safely from the tree, but the worker was pronounced dead at the scene.
The worker was reported trapped and unresponsive, according to FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News, which reported the incident Sunday. Bonita-Sunnyside Fire Protection District officials confirmed the person was pronounced dead at the scene but said no additional information was available at the time.
The response required help from outside agencies because the Bonita-Sunnyside Fire Protection District — which has jurisdiction over the area — was already committed to another incident when the call came in, per the station's report. Crews from Chula Vista, National City, and San Miguel responded to assist, the same outlet noted.
A Single Station Covering a Wide Response Area
That mutual-aid response reflects the realities of fire protection in unincorporated pockets of San Diego County. The Bonita-Sunnyside Fire Protection District serves over 18,000 residents across 7.0 square miles. During Sunday's call, with the district committed elsewhere, crews from Chula Vista, National City, and San Miguel responded to assist.
Sunday's incident also echoes a strikingly similar tragedy in the same community more than three years earlier. In February 2023, 39-year-old tree trimmer Bardomiano Bautista-Perez died in Bonita after becoming trapped under a collapsing skirt of palm fronds about 50 feet above the ground in the 3500 block of Yerba Lane, according to Times of San Diego. Emergency responders from Chula Vista and surrounding agencies took about a half-hour to free that victim's body from the foliage.
Risks of High-Elevation Tree Work
It is not publicly known whether Sunday's victim was working in a palm tree or what caused them to become trapped. Dead palm fronds can fall and pin workers against a trunk, creating an asphyxiation risk.
The California Department of Industrial Relations recommends a pre-job briefing led by a qualified tree worker and lists regulations governing aerial devices.
Cal/OSHA Fatality Investigations
Cal/OSHA has investigated specific workplace fatalities.
The financial stakes behind tree-care work are steep. Benchmark workers' compensation insurance rates in California for tree care and high-elevation arborist operations range between $22 and $38 per $100 of payroll in 2026, compared to $3.50 to $7.00 for ground-level landscaping, according to Via Rapida — one of the highest premium tiers among manual trades in the state.
A Hazard That Keeps Repeating Across the Region
A Hazard That Keeps Repeating Across the Region Nationally, tree care work remains one of the most dangerous trades. Among 1,285 tree care fatalities tracked over a 15-year period, common causes included being struck by trees or falling limbs, falls from height, and electrocution, according to data compiled by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and published on PubMed. The Law Offices of Samer Habbas & Associates reports that California had the most tree-care industry injuries, with 296 over a 20-year period, per the Law Offices of Samer Habbas & Associates.
As of Sunday, Bonita-Sunnyside Fire Protection District officials said no additional information about the trimmer's identity or the circumstances of the entrapment was available.
