Friends and family gathered together Saturday in Shingle Springs to remember firefighter Michael Hallenbeck.
Hallenbeck was killed while battling the Sierra Fire near Lake Tahoe, according to the U.S. Forest Service. This was his first season on the fire line.
"It’s tough for all of us," Lake Tahoe Basin Chief Kit Bailey said. "This is the second within a month and it’s going to be a tough, long season."
An agency statement indicated that Michael Hallenbeck was struck by a falling tree in a remote area between the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit and the Eldorado National Forest.
Hallenbeck’s death comes less than ten days after Black Hills National Forest Engine Capt. David Ruhl died from smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning while battling the Frog Fire in Modoc National Forest.
