On May 9, 2009, Community Emergency Response Team volunteers/citizens trained by the Douglas County Sheriff's Office will be conducting a disaster training drill at Buffalo Ridge Elementary School as a requirement for graduation from the Douglas County CERT program. The drill will focus on a hypothetical wildfire threatening residential areas in Douglas County. The disaster drill will be facilitated and supported by a team of professional responders from within the North Central Region. The focal point of the drill is to enhance the skill sets of local CERT volunteer members.

The CERT program educates volunteers/citizens about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization and disaster medical operations. Using the training learned in the classroom and during exercises, CERT members can assist others in their community or workplace following an event when professional responders are not immediately available to help.

CERT members are also encouraged to support emergency response agencies by taking a more active role in emergency preparedness projects in their community.

Wildfires can result in large property loss and numerous injuries and fatalities. Initial emergency responders may be overwhelmed and community emergency response volunteers and amateur radio operators will be expected to help in disasters when the professionals are not available to answer all calls for help. Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) volunteers train for such an event and will be conducting a wildfire disaster drill to sharpen their skills.