sierra fire

Stretch of highway renamed for fallen South Lake Tahoe firefighter

The Michael “Mikey” Hallenbeck Memorial Highway was dedicated Saturday during a ceremony on Echo Summit near South Lake Tahoe.

Hallenbeck was a 21-year-old firefighter when he died on August 8, 2015 after a tree fell on him as he was fighting the Sierra Fire.

The stretch of Highway 50 from Mt. Ralston Road to Echo Summit now has signage at each end commemorating the fallen fire fighter who worked winters at Sierra-at-Tahoe.

Fundraiser for memorial signs to honor fallen Lake Tahoe firefighter

A stretch of Highway 50 over Echo Summit has been renamed the Firefighter Michael "Mikey" Hallenbeck Memorial Highway, and his family is raising funds to produce and install the signs.

Hallenbeck died fighting the Sierra Fire in August of 2015, near where he worked as a ski life operator. The 21-year-old was also a wildland firefighter for the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit.

Candlelight tribute for Michael "Mikey" Hallenbeck

"How wonderful you are making us feel," were words shared by fallen firefighter Mikey Hallenbeck's dad Kirby during the candlelight vigil held in his honor on Wednesday evening at Sierra-at-Tahoe. "A reflection of your love for him is reflected back to us."

Approximately 350 people gathered on the Plaza at the ski resort where the younger Hallenbeck worked for two seasons.

Fallen firefighter to be honored with processional through South Lake Tahoe

There will be an escorted processional from South Lake Tahoe to Placerville on Thursday to honor 21-year-old Mikey Hallenbeck. The young U.S. Forest Service firefighter, and Sierra-at-Tahoe employee, died while fighting his very first fire on Saturday

The U.S. Forest Service and cooperating fire agencies will escort Hallenbeck from the "Y" in South Lake Tahoe to his final resting place. The procession will start at approximately 10 a.m. and proceed westbound on Highway 50 up Echo Summit, through Sierra-at-Tahoe Resort, down to Placerville. It is expected to end at 2 p.m.

Firefighter dies while fighting blaze near South Lake Tahoe

8:00 p.m. update 8/9/15

The 21 year-old firefighter who died in Saturday evening as he was working on the Sierra Fire has been identified as Michael Hallenbeck of Shingle Springs, CA.

Hallenbeck was a member of Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) Organized Crew 36.

Burn pile spreads into brush fire on Cold Creek Trail in South Lake Tahoe (updated)

Update 12:22PM: A small brush fire on Cold Creek Trail in South Lake Tahoe is contained and burned about one-quarter of an acre, reports U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Cheva Heck. Fire personnel from Lake Valley Fire Protection District and South Lake Tahoe and U.S. Forest Service brought the fire to containment. The cause of the fire is under investigation, Heck said. Initial reports that came in said the fire started as a backyard burn pile.

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