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RUSSELLVILLE — A new training resource that will help personnel from government agencies and Arkansas Tech University students learn how to manage wildfires in the Natural State is making its debut at the 2026 Arkansas River Valley Wildland Fire Academy.
Wesley McKinney, an Arkansas Tech alumnus and fire management officer for the Arkansas Department of Agriculture Forestry Division, took the lead in using a U.S. Forest Service grant to purchase a Simtable system, according to a news release from Arkansas Tech University.
The Simtable projects a map with accurate topography of a specified area onto a four-sided surface. Data inputs allow for the simulation of a wildfire or prescribed burn, complete with weather conditions and response mechanisms such as aircraft and bulldozers, the release states.
“We will use this in training for younger firefighters who are moving into decision-making roles,” McKinney said. “By coming to the table and using the tactics they believe will be most effective, they can see it play out and learn from that so they know how to engage fires in the real world.”
McKinney said practicing with resources such as the Simtable can help less experienced firefighters become more prepared for the stress they will face when they take their training to the field.
“When it comes to real life, they can revert back to their training and what they learned through the simulation,” McKinney said. “This (topographic) map puts the fire on a landscape so you can see what is driving it.”
Additional governmental agencies will use the Simtable in the fall to help plan prescribed burns, McKinney said.
