The life of Los Padres National Forest Battalion Chief Gary Helming was honored with an open-to-the-public memorial service on 9/6 at the Pacific Christian Center, in Santa Maria. Helming died in a vehicle collision on August 31 while returning from a wildfire on the Sierra National Forest. Helming, 47, started with the Forest Service 22 years ago as a seasonal firefighter, and worked for the Bureau of Land Management and the National Park Service before returning to the Forest Service in 2013.