Local ranchers donate hay, feed in wildfire-stricken areas

Sep. 22--By CHARLES H. FEATHERSTONE

Staff Writer

MOSES LAKE -- Wildfires in Washington are leaving charred land and losses, but some folks are stepping up to help with the immediate needs, such as feeding cows.

"We lost all our fall and winter pasture," said Ed Townsend, one of the partners of the 20,000-acre T3 Ranch near Okanogan. "We're currently mapping the losses."

Townsend, who said he lost around 70 of his roughly 370-head herd to fire and injury, added he also lost nearly 70 miles of fencing, and he will have to feed his remaining cattle, instead of letting them graze, long before he planned to.

"Most of us will have to start over," he said. "There will be several years of recovery."

Ashley House, executive vice president of the Washington Cattlemen's Association, said the organization has been working hard to coordinate relief efforts for ranchers, with a focus on cattle feed, nutritional supplements, and medicine for cows.

"We're trying to be a good neighbor to the beef industry, to be a good neighbor and help as much as we can because this isn't easy or expected," House said.

Among the gifts the association has received is a $20,000 donation from the Cattle Feeders Association, House said, and many farmers have been hauling in "lots of loads of hay" to help.

"Anything is help right now," she said.

Rep. Tom Dent, R-Moses Lake, is doing what he can to be a good neighbor, including hauling hay to ranchers in Okanogan and Lincoln counties whose ranches have been seriously damaged by fire.

"People are donating feed and hay," Dent said as he secured the last of over 170 bales of alfalfa hay to a trailer Monday. "I got this load of hay over by George, six and one-half tons, which I'm hauling up to Creston."

The need in Okanogan, Douglas and Lincoln counties is critical. With the Cold Springs and Pearl Hill fires in Okanogan County blackening over 400,000 acres and the Whitney Fire in Lincoln County burning over 127,000 acres, every bit helps local ranchers who have lost land and stock to the blazes.

Townsend said he is impressed with how much help has arrived and how quickly it has come. Much of the aid to farmers and ranchers in Okanogan County is going to the county fairgrounds, and then it is being parceled out to whomever needs it.

"Donations have been very generous and from all over the state," he said.

Dent said he doesn't know of any state aid that's been provided, but he said that Gov. Jay Inslee has emergency funds at his disposal to help affected farmers and ranchers.

"I don't know if any requests have been made," Dent said.

Aside from the losses to his range and his cattle, Townsend said, it's going to take a lot of work replacing all the lost fence. Currently, volunteers are rolling up wire and pulling out the charred remains of fence posts, he said, before fence crews get to work.

He also said he was concerned about the lack of cover on much of his land, and the threat rain now poses to fields and pastures across a swath of north-central Washington despite what he called an ongoing "cow-killing" drought.

"My biggest concern is thundershowers," he said. "We live in the 10-inch rainfall belt, and we're really at risk for erosion."

Anyone interested in making a donation should contact the Washington Cattlemen's Association at 509-925-9971.

Charles H. Featherstone can be reached at cfeatherstone@columbiabasinherald.com.

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