A 70-year-old Clinton resident was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle on Monday afternoon after he fell from a ladder.

Island County Fire District 3 Deputy Chief Jon Beck said Tuesday that the man was on a 20-foot extension ladder using a chainsaw to trim a cedar tree behind his house off Holst Road near Hilltop Drive when the fall occurred.

Beck said the man apparently sustained a head injury. He was discovered by a neighbor about 20 minutes after the fall, and the neighbor called 911.

Fire district units and Whidbey General Hospital Emergency Medical Services personnel responded. The EMS crew administered medical assistance while Beck summoned the helicopter, Beck said.

The victim was transported to Waterman Field at South Whidbey High School to await an Airlift Northwest medivac helicopter.

The helicopter came and went in about 20 minutes.

Information on the extent of the victim’s injuries was not available as of the Record’s deadline on Tuesday.

The evacuation cut short practice by the high school’s cross country and football teams.