First and foremost, Mike was a man of love, faith, and integrity. God, family, and friends were the center of his life. Mike leaned on his strong faith in the Lord to help him through trying times and provide him a compass when navigating his busy family through life. When people met Mike, they knew they were in the presence of someone special. Simply put, he left you wanting to be a better person.

Mike was a devoted husband to his high school sweetheart, LeAnne. They would have been married for 25 years in the month of November following his death. He was a true girls’ dad to his daughters, Mikena (age 21) and Rylee (age 17). He was everything to his three girls—a husband, father, mentor, best friend, protector, and hero. Above all, Mike’s main focus was to always make sure his family was taken care of.

Mike’s flight career started when he was 19 years old. He worked his way through numerous licenses and jobs as a civilian pilot to achieve his ultimate goal to one day fly for the Los Angeles County Fire Department. He was experienced, with over 30 years as a helicopter pilot, working various jobs from Air Medevac, Southern California Edison, wildland contract firefighting work, and finally Los Angeles County Fire in their Air Operations division. His dream was cut short on August 19, 2020, when he was fighting the Hills Fire in Fresno County, California. August 18, 2020 was the last goodbye hug he would give his family as he left that morning to work.

Mike was always the first to the start of a job and the last to leave. His work ethic was above and beyond. His strength and perseverance led him to be successful in every aspect of his life. He loved all outdoor sports and especially loved the sport of CrossFit, where he eventually would compete worldwide at the CrossFit Games and place 3rd in the world for his age division. He always gave credit for his achievements to others. He believed his success was from all the love and support he received from the ones that meant the most to him. But his family and friends knew it was his hard work, perseverance, and strength that gave him the win. CrossFit created a Hero workout named after him, “Fournier.” This was a huge honor he received from his favorite sport, where he will be forever remembered.

Mike can never be replaced, but he would want each of us to carry on and to treat people the way he treated them, with respect, love, and kindness. #LOVELIKEMIKE