The Pine Ridge Area Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) update for Box Butte, Dawes, Sheridan, and Sioux Counties has been completed. Region 23 Emergency Management worked with the Nebraska Forest Service, fire department personnel, and others to update the CWPP that the counties adopted in 2015.
The CWPP is intended to enhance collaboration and communication among the agencies and organizations who manage wildfire in the Pine Ridge area, and to help them effectively prepare for and respond to wildfire.
Landowners in counties with a CWPP are eligible to apply for federal and state cost-share funds for vegetative fuels reduction and other hazard mitigation efforts in at-risk areas within the CWPP boundary. The plan may also provide increased opportunities for counties, municipalities, and rural fire districts to seek grant funding for activities related to fire protection.
The plan, part of a statewide network of Community Wildfire Protection Plans, provides information useful to both local emergency responders and those from outside the area who provide mutual aid. The CWPP consolidates and relays critical information needed for responders in unfamiliar terrain.
The final plan is available online at https://nfs.unl.edu/documents/CWPP/PRCWPP.pdf.