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.

Both signs were recently installed by Caltrans.

Mikey's parent Toni and Kirby Hallenbeck were at the ceremony along with Amy Berry, CEO of the Tahoe Fund, California State Senator Ted Gaines, LTBMU Forest Supervisor Jeff Marsolais, Dan Moore from Sierra At Tahoe, along with others from the fire service, forest service and friends.

After his death, a candle light ceremony was held at Sierra-at-Tahoe, and an honor cordon was held on the South Shore, an impressive line of 50 vehicles lining Highway 50 through Meyers under a flag which was draped between two ladder trucks. Another 50 vehicles participated in the procession from the "Y" in South Lake Tahoe, through the parking lot at Sierra-at-Tahoe where Hallenbeck worked, down the highway to the 21-year-old's final resting spot in Rescue, Calif.