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Firefighter Killed By Tree In Lake Tahoe Area Firefight

VALLEJO, Calif. (AP) - The U.S. Forest Service says one of its firefighters was killed Saturday evening in the Lake Tahoe area after he was struck by a tree while battling a wildfire.

The agency says in a news release that the firefighter was hit about 5:30 p.m. while working in a remote area between the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit and Eldorado National Forest.

Later Sunday evening, the Forest Service identified the firefighter as 21-year-old Shingle Springs resident Michael Hallenbeck.

mike hallenbeck
Photo of Hallenbeck provided by the U.S. Forest Service.

The Forest Service says a second male firefighter who was also injured in the incident has been treated and released from a nearby hospital.

Hallenbeck's family has released the following statement on his death:

"Mikey was so excited to become a firefighter. When he first found out he had the position, he spent every day hiking with a pack to prepare. Mikey loved the outdoors and sports. He played football, basketball, soccer, ice hockey, tennis and golf. He also loved to snowboard and hike. He spent the last two ski seasons working for Sierra Ski Resort. Now he has had a greater calling. We are so very proud he stepped up to work hard and be brave to put others before himself. We cannot even begin to express the pain our family is going through and we ask for the respect of our privacy as we go through this devastating ordeal."

On July 30, a firefighter was killed by a wildfire in the Modoc National Forest while he scouted the area for ways to fight the blaze, officials said Saturday.

U.S. Forest Service firefighter David Ruhl, of Rapid City, South Dakota, had been on temporary assignment since June in California, where he was an assistant fire management officer for the Big Valley Ranger District.

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press.

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