Coarsegold family without a father after an on-the-job accident kills experienced arborist

COARSEGOLD, Calif. (KFSN) -- At 20-years-old and the oldest of 10 children Morgan Mayer already shouldered at lot of responsibility. But nothing prepared him for the call Thursday afternoon.

"At first it was just disbelief, I said over and over again, 'no not my dad, there has to be some mistake.'"

Morgan's father, Nash Mayer, had been cutting trees for 16 years. He was up in Mariposa County this week when something he had done hundreds of times before went horribly wrong.

"They had everything in place, they had discussed it, they had a safety engineer on the job," said Mark Snyder, victim's father-in-law.

The Sheriff's Office said Nash was on the ground, guiding a dead tree, when a pine fell on top of him. He was only 40-years-old.

"Our belief is that this is part of God's perfect plan. We don't understand it, we are having a hard time processing it, but you can't argue with that," said Snyder.

Family members said Nash loved his job and when he was not cutting trees or helping friends-- he was with loved ones.

"I'm sad my little brothers lose their dad, and they are a lot younger than I am, and have spent a lot less time with him that I had," said Morgan.

Morgan is now finding a reason to feel grateful. Knowing that at least he has enough memories of his father to pass on to his siblings while he is still learning how to grieve.

"We are all sad, and maybe even a little lost without them, he'll be greatly missed."

Friends have setup a GoFundME account to help the family. Click here if you would like to donate.