Firefighters geared up for the Western Nebraska Engine Academy on Sept. 12-14, which included training exercises at Buffalo Creek Wildlife Management Area in the Wildcat Hills near Gering.
Chris Becker, a Nebraska Game and Parks Commission wildlife biologist, said the wildlife area did not close to the public. Training exercises include igniting and extinguishing fire.
Becker said the annual event readies personnel from multiple agencies for fighting fire while providing the benefits of prescribed burning. Land managers in western Nebraska often use prescribed burning to improve the diversity of desirable plants and lessen the risk of catastrophic wildfire.