PIERRE, S.D.(DRGNews)- Firefighters from at least three states met in Fort Pierre at the end of last week and over the weekend (March 24-27, 2022) for the South Dakota Wildland Fire Academy.

Training and Aviation Program Manager for South Dakota Wildland Fire Tamara Dierks says over 130 firefighters attended the classes.

She says Academy participants come from different agencies and come with differing levels of training.

Federal Bureau of Land Management Fire Management Specialist Travis Lipp says as our fire seasons get longer and more intense, there’s a need for more assistance to spread the workload.

Both Lipp and Dierks say interagency cooperation is key to wildland fire response, and when they train together, it is a lot easier to work together.

The four day event was organized by the South Dakota Department of Public Safety’s Wildland Fire Division with assistance from its federal partners.