ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Two days after the Biltmore Estate reopened after Hurricane Helene hit Asheville, a contractor was injured on a job site at the property.
The Asheville Fire Department responded to an 11:11 a.m. report this morning, Nov. 4, that a tree had fallen on a worker at the Biltmore Estate.
“I guess there was a company out there doing some tree work, and whatever happened, one of the trees hit another tree and did fall on a worker, who was alert and oriented, conscious when we arrived,” said AFD Public Information Officer Kelley Klope. “Local EMS had already gotten there before us. They did transport him, but it doesn’t seem to be life-threatening.”
Klope said that the worker was walking around when AFD arrived at the scene and did not appear to be substantially injured.
The accident occurred over the course of work the contractors were doing, rather than a freak incident.
“I think they were actually out there doing work,” Klope said. “It wasn’t a worker for the Biltmore Estate, it was a contractor or company doing tree work.”
The accident is the third tree-related accident at the Biltmore Estate since 2022. Previous accidents claimed the lives of Casey Skudin, a New York City Fire Department firefighter, on June 17, 2022 and Biltmore Estate employee Jerrilyn “Jere” Musachia on April 1, 2023. Biltmore was cleared of any fault in the matter.
The Biltmore Public Relations team has been contacted for comment.