Toddler dies after tree lands on Occidental home

Occidental Volunteer Fire Department Chief Ronald Lunardi said a child was killed Wednesday night after a tree fell on a double-wide along Joy Road.

First responders rushed to the home just after dark following a report of a downed tree into a residence. Upon arrival, Lunardi encountered a man carrying an injured child who was believed to be under 2 years old.

Lunardi said he rushed the child to emergency personnel stationed on Joy Road. They attempted to revive the boy, but ultimately declared him dead at the scene.

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Sonoma County Sheriff’s deputies then took over the incident and brought a chaplain to comfort the family, Lunardi said, even as trees in the area were continuing to fall.

At about 7 p.m., emergency crews and a Press Democrat reporter at the scene heard a large tree fall. Firefighters had to clear trees out of the roadway just to return to their station house in Occidental after the call, Lunardi said.

Other calls the department responded to included a UPS delivery driver whose truck was trapped between two fallen trees, Lunardi said. Firefighters walked the driver out of the scene.

A fire engine on Coleman Valley Road was also trapped between trees and firefighters used a front-end loader to clear the roadway.

Occidental and Graton roads, the main arteries into Occidental, remained open Wednesday night, Lunardi said, but others, including Joy and Coleman Valley roads, were closed.