Left inset: Lamar McGlothurn (Panish, Shea, Ravipudi LLP). Right inset: The tree that produced the “deadly” branch that killed Lamar McGlothurn, which was allegedly hollow and decaying for years (PSR). Background: Camp Wildcraft at King Gillette Ranch in California, where Lamar McGlothurn was killed by a falling tree branch in July 2025 (KCBS/YouTube).
An 8-year-old boy in California was killed in front of his parents by a “massive” tree branch that fell on him while he was at summer camp, a lawsuit says. The child“s mother and father are suing the camp, alleging that staffers “knew branches were dangerously dropping from that tree” and “inexplicably directed groups of young children to play, paint and rest directly under the tree.”
“That is exactly what Lamar was doing when he was tragically killed by the falling branch,” Lamar McGlothurn’s parents allege in their legal complaint about the July 9 incident.
The couple was picking Lamar up from Camp Wildcraft at King Gillette Ranch in Los Angeles County when the “deadly” oak tree branch “snapped off the tree” and killed him, the complaint says.
“His parents, present for pickup, tragically witnessed the death of their son,” the family’s attorneys, Robert Glassman and Joe O’Hanlon, say in a press release. “The public entities and the Camp had long been on notice that the oak trees in the area of the park used by Camp Wildcraft were unhealthy, and this was not the first time a large branch had fallen from the same tree,” the release alleges.
According to the complaint, another branch fell from the tree seven days earlier and crews at King Gillette Ranch allegedly raised concerns about the decaying tree. Text messages and emails from the Mountains Recreation & Conservation Authority (MRCA), which operates King Gillette Ranch, show that staff requested the removal of at least one branch that snapped from the tree on July 2.
“Wow. That was a massive branch,” an MRCA division chief allegedly wrote in an email about the previous branch that fell. “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.”
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Lamar was killed a week later, despite recommendations to do something about the “health of the tree” from a local landscaping company that was called in.
“It is somewhat concerning seeing all the decay at the trunk,” a worker allegedly texted. “It would be wise to thin the canopy and alleviate end weight at a minimum to mitigate the risk,” the employee said, but nothing was done, according to the complaint.
“Based on several reports, Camp Wildcraft even directed the campers, like Lamar, to stay within the target zone of the tree on July 9 despite such notice of falling tree limbs capable of killing the children underneath,” the complaint alleges.
A timeline provided by the family’s attorneys says the text from the landscaper was sent to camp staff on July 3, six days before Lamar’s death. Post-incident inspections by experts hired by the family’s legal team have revealed “significant signs of deterioration in the oak tree,” including structural defects, stress signs, and internal decay that would have been visually apparent, their lawyers say.
“The presence of degraded wood tissue and separation between dead and live bark indicates the tree has experienced chronic stress and physiological decline over time,” the complaint concludes. “These conditions likely represent a long-standing defect that would have been observable prior to the failure event and, in my opinion, constitute a clear visual warning of compromised structural integrity in the trunk of the tree.”
Camp Wildcraft describes itself as an “art and nature day camp” with a mission to “grow curious, creative, caring and confident kids,” according to its website. The camp did not respond to Law&Crime’s requests for comment Wednesday. An MRCA spokesperson sent Law&Crime a statement saying, “The MRCA will review the claim and complaint and respond at the appropriate time through the legal process. 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. That investigation remains open and ongoing, and the MRCA continues to cooperate fully with all parties involved.”
