Two men were killed in Western Washington while trying to clear trees damaged in recent windstorms - a 42-year-old state Transportation Department worker and a 24-year-old Sedro Woolley man working for a private contractor.

The DOT worker was killed near Port Angeles after being hit by a falling tree limb.

A DOT spokeswoman says Neal Richards was working to clear a slide on U.S. 101 near Indian Hill when the tree fell.

"I'm deeply saddened at the loss of a part of our WSDOT family. Neal’s death is a terrible tragedy, which affects us all. Neal was a loyal employee who was truly dedicated to our transportation system. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and co-workers," said Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond.

Richards served at WSDOT since 1998, most recently working as a maintenance lead tech in Port Angeles. He is survived by his wife and two children, 10 and 12.

The Sedro Woolley man was killed Thursday when a tree fell on him as he was cutting it down, officials said.

Deputies and medics were called to the scene, in the 7500 block of Silvana Terrace Road in unincorporated Stanwood, at about 1:40 p.m., said Rebecca Hover with the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office.

The man, reportedly employed as a private contractor with a logging and tree service company, was doing storm clean-up work in a heavily wooded area on private property, Hover said.

He was using a chainsaw to bring down an unstable tree that had fallen and was partially suspended by the branches of nearby trees when a large section of that tree fell on him.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene. His name was not immediately available.

Another man who was working in the area was not injured.