Two Children Critically Injured By Falling Tree While Waiting For Bus During Powerful Winds In Idaho

Amid powerful windstorms Wednesday that struck the Magic Valley region in Idaho, a tree collapsed onto two kids younger than 10 years old as they stood at their school bus stop south of Twin Falls, leaving both children injured.

According to the Twin Falls County Sheriff’s Office per KIVI-TV, the accident took place shortly before 7 a.m. as high winds toppled a tree onto the two children and knocked down nearby power lines. A sibling who was older was also at the scene, but avoided injury. (RELATED: 3I/ATLAS: Here’s What To Know And How You Can See Rare Interstellar Comet)

Even with the hazardous wind gusts, an Air St. Luke’s helicopter managed to touch down close to the incident site and airlifted one of the children to St. Luke’s Magic Valley Medical Center. The second child was transported to the hospital via ambulance. Details about the severity of their injuries were not released right away.

“Earlier this morning, a serious incident occurred when high winds caused several old, internally rotten trees to fall, knocking down power lines, and critically injuring two children who were waiting for the bus,” the sheriff’s office wrotehttps://t.co/pfwQtzJIq0#EastIdahoNews pic.twitter.com/eZd9lDJQ7P

— East Idaho News (@EastIDNews) December 17, 2025

The National Weather Service (NWS) recorded peak wind gusts reaching 68 mph in Twin Falls shortly after 9:45 a.m. Wednesday.

The Twin Falls County Sheriff’s Office reported that the intense weather led to a surge in emergency calls all day long, involving fallen trees, downed power lines and overturned semi-trucks. Several semi-truck rollovers were observed on Highway 93 shortly after 10 a.m.