No further investigation into death at Safari West

Authorities said they will not be looking further into the Tuesday night death of a woman at Safari West Preserve, northeast of Santa Rosa.

"There will be no further investigation, no criminal investigation," said Sonoma County Sherrff's Capt. Matt McCaffrey. "It was obviously an accident."

Gayle Falgoust, 70, of Madison, Ala., was killed by a large oak tree that toppled during a driving rainstorm and fell onto the wood-framed tent in which she and her granddaughter were staying at the Porter Creek Road wildlife sanctuary.

The 7-year-old granddaughter, from Los Angeles, was unhurt. Her name wasn't released. The pair were with an organized group of grandparents and grandchildren that visits Safari West three times a year. The group checked out Thursday after completing their visit.

The state office of Occupational Safety and Health also will not investigate, a spokeswoman said, because no employees were involved in the incident.

The age of the oak tree was not yet known. Officials at the popular 400-acre preserve, which has 30 lodging tents similar to the one Falgoust was staying in, said arborists inspect the property's trees regularly. It was not known if the tree that fell was previously inspected.

"I don't know how you would avoid an act of nature," said Aphrodite Caserta, a preserve spokeswoman.

She said that staff members are still being informed and counseling services have been available if needed.

"Obviously this is going to be with us for a while," she said.

UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy:
  • This is a family newspaper, please use a kind and respectful tone.
  • No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. No off-topic remarks.
  • No disinformation about current events.
  • We will remove any comments — or commenters — that do not follow this commenting policy.