Olympic Peninsula News Group

A Port Angeles arborist died after falling more than 30 feet with a portion of a tree he was topping on Peterson Street in Sequim, a friend said.

Lyle Lyster, who was the owner of West Coast Tree Service of Port Angeles, was pronounced dead at the scene after Clallam County sheriff’s deputies and firefighters with Clallam Fire District No. 3 arrived at 10:45 a.m. on April 21.

Lyster, 41, was a 1993 graduate of Port Angeles High School, said friend Jessica Edwards.

Lyster was employed with a construction company before starting his tree service about three years ago, she said. He was happy working on many kinds of heavy equipment. The Port Angeles arborist also made a 2015 appearance on a National Geographic Channel program “The Legend of Mick Dodge,” in which he helped the characters erect a tree stairway on a property near Forks.

A safety compliance officer with the state Department of Labor and Industries said that equipment used incorrectly contributed to Lyster’s death.

Rick White, a Labor and Industries safety compliance officer, said Lyster was wearing spurs and was fully dug into the tree about 30 feet up when it fell, taking him down with it.

White said he did not believe the tree fell on Lyster.