A stretch of Highway 120 near Yosemite National Park has been named in honor of California State University, Stanislaus graduate and women’s basketball standout Eva Schicke who was killed while battling a September 2004 wildfire.

A stretch of road near Groveland has been named the “CDF Firefighter Eva Marie Schicke Memorial Highway” as a tribute to her life. A 2002 Criminal Justice Degree graduate, Schicke was killed when she was overcome by wind-whipped flames while battling a wildfire near Groveland. She was working as a seasonal firefighter for the California Department of Forestry (now CalFire) and had been making plans to pursue a nursing career.

A California State Assembly bill introduced by Assemblyman Tom Berryhill approved the naming of the highway stretch in her honor, and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed it into law in October 2008. Firefighters raised the money for the highway sign posted at the “Rim of the World” vista in the Stanislaus National Forest.

A memorial to Schicke, the first CalFire female firefighter to die in the line of duty, was also placed at the “Rim of the World” site overlooking the Tuolumne River canyon where she died.

A four-year starter for the Warrior women’s basketball team, Schicke is one of only two players to have their jersey numbers retired. Schicke’s number “55” was retired in 2005 and her former teammate and three-time All-American Shannon Donnelly had her number “35” retired in 2003.