Area Producers Assist Fire Impacted Ranchers

Local farmers donated hay to the fire victims in the Oklahoma and Texas panhandles Photo courtesy Tonya Dobrinski

In response to recent wildfires in the Oklahoma panhandle and Texas, area producers are joining forces to send donated hay to the affected area so that ranchers in the scorched districts can feed their livestock.

In Blaine County, Emergency Management Director Jim Shelton began fielding telephone calls almost before the flames were out.

“I had some people asking me what to do or where to go with it (hay). I didn’t know anything, but I know somebody who knows somebody, so I hooked them up. I’m just the middle person,” Shelton said.

The next somebody turned out to be Lorrie Bierig in Custer County. She in turn had contacts in Ellis County, where the wildfires burned more than 31,000 acres, and in the panhandle of Texas, where more than 1 million acres burned. Bierig, who has physical limitations, got to work on the telephone and computer, coordinating hay drops and food, water and snacks for the firefighters.

“There was an outpouring of people who wanted to donate hay,” she said. “Then we had to find truckers and trucks to haul that hay. At first the drivers were donating their time and paying for the fuel out of their own pockets.”

The fuel cost was unsustainable. Bierig recounted one driver who had to return to work after a week of volunteer time because he had spent $10,000 of his own resources on fuel.

Now the operation is fundraising for the cost of the fuel.

There have been hay drops in Gage, Shattuck and Catesby in Oklahoma and Miami, Canadian, Borger and Fritch in Texas.

She and her husband using loaner trucks delivered several loads of hay to Canadian themselves. A semi load is between 23 and 30 round bales of hay, she said. And there have been thousands of bales donated and dropped in staging areas where farmers and ranchers could pick them up.

“Now we are working (with brothers Jason and Doug Afton) to get it delivered right to the farmers,” Bierig said.

But the trip to Canadian tore at Bierig’s heart. There were many cattle lost to the flames, but many survived. What hurt was the personal losses.

“One family lost a homeplace that had been there for 150 years. I just cried to see what these people are going through,” Bierig said.

While she noted that Rep. Mike Dobrinski has been a leader in providing information and doing all he can to support volunteer firefighters, there has been no state relief for the victims on the Oklahoma side of the fire.

In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott declared a disaster before the flames were contained so that the residents might be eligible for federal programs.

“We hope we’ll see something like that in Oklahoma soon,” Bierig said.

Anyone who wishes to donate hay or trucking for hay to farmers and ranchers affected by the fire can contact the Western Oklahoma Fire Coverage Facebook page. There are also emails and telephone numbers listed on the page.

Bierig suggests other donations be made to local volunteer fire departments.