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with tribal officials to work on improving public safety in tribal communities. Purdon is vice-chair of the committee.
• The group met last year on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota to hear from tribal leaders, law enforcement officials and community members about public safety issues in Indian Country, including violence against Native American women.
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Crews focus on cleanup as Neb., SD wildfires wane
MARGERY A. BECK,Associated Press
• OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- Crews turned their focus Wednesday to cleanup efforts in an area scorched by three massive wildfires in northwest Nebraska and southwest South Dakota.
• Firefighters spent the day patrolling the areas, mopping up hotspots and maintaining the fire line to prevent any flames from spreading.
• Lighting sparked the fires Aug. 28 and the flames spread quickly over the tinder-dry, drought-ravaged terrain, forcing the evacuation of several communities and threatening hundreds of homes and farm buildings.
• The three blazes in the Nebraska Panhandle hadn't grown since Tuesday. Fire officials said one of the fires in Nebraska and South Dakota had been completely contained while the other two were 95 percent contained as of Wednesday afternoon.
• Two fires in Dawes and Sioux counties, called the Douthit and West Ash fires, burned nearly 138 square miles of mostly grasslands and pine trees. A third fire to the east in Sheridan County, dubbed the Wellnitz fire, crossed into South Dakota, and burned a total of 120 square miles, including 44 square miles in South Dakota's (Continued on page 14)
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