As of Friday, more than 1.1 million acres has burned in Oregon. Lightning continues to spark new fires and with the flames still not under control, it will go down as one of the most devastating wildfire fires in the state’s history.
Clint Sexson ranches in eastern Oregon. He says between cattle lost and grazing areas burned, it’s been a grueling summer. The exact livestock losses are unknown at this time.
“I don’t even want to speculate,” Sexson says. “I mean, the one that’s pretty public is that the 300 head in the Durkee Fire that were lost,” Sexson says. “I know one producer who has lost probably hundreds.”
That particular fire, the Durkee Fire, has been a monster. At 86% contained, it’s already scorched 295,000 acres.
Plenty of Fuel for Fires
Just this week, lightning sparked more fires. Sexson says the reason the fires have been so bad is the amount of grass available to fuel the fires.
“There’s more fuel on the ground,” Sexson says. “Some of these areas have burned before. There hasn’t necessarily been a clean up after a burn, so there’s just a lot of fuel.”
A Devastating Loss of Grass to Graze
The livestock losses are heartbreaking and severe, but the amount of grass burned is causing concern in the state. As the fires rage, the losses of valuable grazing ground are mounting, which impacts livestock producers across the state.
“This part of the world is different,” Sexson says. “A lot of people don’t feed cows, but maybe 30, 60 days a year. The rest of the year, we are grazing cattle. It’s a budgetary thing and a management thing that they will have to work through. Emotionally, it’s tough on those people, especially those generational ranches.”
Sexson was fortunate. On July 20, as the fires raged and closed in on his land, he was able to get cattle out thanks to fellow ranchers who showed up with trucks and trailers.
“I work for Select Sires and every one of those trucks that showed up, they were all customers,” he says, as his voice cracks and tears fill his eyes. “We got the cattle out and right back to a customer’s feedlot. They were ready for them, and we were pretty fortunate.”
An Emotional Sale of Support
That emotion was felt late last week as Superior Livestock Auction sold special benefit lots as part of their video sale in Winnemucca, Nev. This was an example of ranchers helping ranchers. That money went to the Oregon Fire Relief Fund, which will help those producers in need.
“These are primarily purebred breeders who have made donations in sale credit or semen credit,” Sexson says. “They’re not directly focused on their customers alone. They’re just focused on the general beef industry in Oregon and the devastation some of these people are dealing with. I know two or three people who had their entire ranches burned by the fires. They may not have lost a cow, but it burnt all their private grazing ground.”
The special sale was a touching gesture, as the ranching community comes together at a time of need and the fires continue to burn. Emotions are high, losses are mounting and cattle producers impacted are feeling the financial pain.
