Fire officials begin burning slash piles across the state

Starting immediately as weather allows over the winter months, officials across the state plan to burn slash piles.

Nebraska Game and Parks will burn slash piles containing trees and shrubs removed from grasslands and forests, along with other debris piles, on both wildlife management areas and state park areas. The goal is to reduce fuel loads while conditions are safer for burning.

In the Pine Ridge, Nebraska Game and Parks is partnering with the Pine Ridge Ranger District of the Nebraska National Forests and Grasslands to reduce fuel loads in forested areas.

When burns are occurring, smoke likely will be visible from nearby communities and other nearby roads and properties.

The burn piles will be checked at least daily until they are completely extinguished.

Thinning and reducing hazardous fuel accumulation and build-up on the ground is an important tool in reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfires. Many of these slash piles are from mechanical thinning completed in grassland and forested areas throughout the state and some residue from previous fires.

For more information contact the Nebraska Game and Parks Wildlife Office at 402-471-5431, and for information on the Pine Ridge fires, contact the Pine Ridge Ranger District at 308-432-0300 or the Game and Parks Commission Pine Ridge Field Office at 308-665-2924.