U.S. Forest Service firefighter was killed Saturday night battling a wildfire in Northern California, becoming the second firefighter to die in just over a week.
Michael Hallenbeck, 21, from Shingle Springs, Calif., was killed fighting the Sierra fire near Lake Tahoe when a tree fell on him. Another firefighter was injured.
“Our hearts go out to the family, friends and fellow crewmembers of this brave firefighter,” U.S. Forest Service official Randy Moore said in a statement. “The loss of any member of our Forest Service family is a tragedy. The grief we are feeling at the sudden loss of two of our firefighters; Dave Ruhl last week on the Modoc National Forest and now Mike Hallenbeck on the Basin, reminds us of the sacrifices these men and women make every day.”
On July 30, Ruhl, 38, was killed while scouting a blaze in Modoc County, near the Oregon border.
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