Firefighter killed battling California fire; Air Force deploys C-130s to assist

A second California firefighter was killed over the weekend battling a fire near Lake Tahoe. Michael Hallenbeck, 21, was killed near the Echo Summit mountain pass when a tree fell on him. On July 30, David Ruhl of S.D. was killed scouting ways to fight a fire. The fires were started by lightning strikes.

A 21-year-old U.S. Forest Service firefighter became the second first responder to die since California's scorching wildfire season got underway, officials said Sunday.

Michael Hallenbeck, of Shingle Springs, Calif., was struck by a tree Saturday afternoon during the initial assault on a wildfire that broke out south of the Echo Summit mountain pass, the agency said in a statement.

"Our hearts go out to the family, friends and fellow crewmembers of this brave firefighter," said Randy Moore, the Forest Service's Pacific Southwest Regional Forester said. "The loss of any member of our Forest Service family is a tragedy."

On July 30, Forest Service firefighter David Ruhl, of Rapid City, S.D., was killed by a wildfire in the Modoc National Forest while he scouted the area for ways to fight the blaze. Ruhl, , had been on temporary assignment since June in California, where he was an assistant fire management officer for the Big Valley Ranger District.

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To assist with fighting the fires, the US Forest Service has requested the assistance of the Air Force. Two C-130s from the 302nd Airlift Wing, Colorado Air National Guard have been in California since August 3rd, assisting with multiple fires. Two more aircraft were notified yesterday that they would be deployed to help fight the Fork Complex fire. That fire has burned over 19,000 acres, and damaged or destroyed 12 structures.

MAFFS Update: MAFFS 2 and 5 have received launch orders, today Sun., Aug. 9 and are departing McClellan Airfield to support suppression efforts on the Fork Complex fire in Califormia.

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a reply to: Zaphod58

Sucks to hear that.

Have freinds up that way in the mountins. Can see why its a tinder box this time of year.

a reply to: crazyewok

There are currently something like 20 fires burning across California, none are contained.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: crazyewok

There are currently something like 20 fires burning across California, none are contained.

Yikes.

When i was up there they were explaining how bad it got and showed me the huge expanses of missing trees of previous fires.

a reply to: Zaphod58

It's just so sad! 21 years old! I know people use the word "hero" too much, but when someone risks their lives to help save others, to me, that's the epitome of hero.

We often see a lot of firefighters here in New Mexico during our dry season and I always make a point to let them know just how much I appreciate their service.

a reply to: Benevolent Heretic

A huge fire just broke out in Arizona, and one has been burning near Needles/Lake Havasu. This is rapidly turning into a bad season. There's one up in Washington that we saw the other day that has burned something like 33,000 acres, and we had to stop in Idaho for a few hours because right at the Oregon/Idaho line there was a fire burning right next to the interstate.

a reply to: Zaphod58

The Washington one is probably the Wolverine Fire.

Do you know about inciweb? We use it to track fires to know if we should prepare to evacuate.

inciweb.nwcg.gov...

a reply to: Benevolent Heretic

Thanks, I'll keep that handy. We drive through a lot of these areas, so really need to keep up to date with current fires so we can reroute if we need to.

a reply to: Zaphod58


I didn't want to post this , but I feel i need to . The man who died was my cousins best friend , My cousin died almost a year ago from a Heroin OD . Mikey filled in as a son for my Aunt when Derek passed . He was very supportive and an all around good guy .

Last time I saw him I was at my cousins wake . I didn't know him as much as everyone else did . but from what i understand he was a mans mans . no doubt a sad day for my family and his .

RIP Mikey and Derek ,may god grant you both paradise .

Here is a pic of the both of them together.
My cousin on the left and Mikey on the right .

RIP brother