Destruction of the West - RANGE magazinerangemagazine.com/features/winter-16/range-wi16-sr-fire.pdf · 2015-11-20 · Prairie City, destroying ranches, 26 homes, cattle, and wildlife

72 • RANGE MAGAZINE • WINTER 2015/2016

When the Soda Fire began in OwyheeCounty, Idaho, on Aug. 10, 2015, thefirst responders were members of

the Owyhee Rangeland Fire Protection Asso-ciation (RFPA). These dedicated ranchers arevolunteers whose associations have legalagreements with the Bureau of Land Man-agement to be the initial attack on wildfires.(See sidebar on page 74.) The ranchersstayed on the fire for 36 hours, containing itto 640 acres. Then the BLM arrived to mopup, assuring the RFPA volunteers the fire wasout and they could go back to ranch work. Afew hours later, the fire blew up into thelargest in the nation, devastating more than285,000 acres.

A lightning strike in Canyon Creek nearJohn Day, Ore., was fought by local ranchersto protect their cattle, range, and privateproperty. It was contained at 200 acres whenthe federal government took over. That firethreatened the towns of John Day andPrairie City, destroying ranches, 26 homes,cattle, and wildlife over 105,000 acres.

Northeast of New Meadows, Idaho,lightning struck a large yellow pine. Federalworkers were called in to assess the situationbut they didn’t feel comfortable cutting it

down, so they simply left. During the night,the tree burned in half, rolled down themountain, and spread the fire. The result wasthe Teepee Fire, 94,000 acres, which threat-ened the towns of Riggins and New Mead-ows, jumped the Big Salmon River, andtrapped rafters upriver, obliterating valuableresources and wildlife.

In Montana, the governor sent a sternlyworded protest letter to the U.S. Forest Ser-vice when state firefighting helicopters wererefused permission for initial attack on theNorth Fork Fire with embers igniting firesinto Glacier National Park. Montana has fivestate firefighting helicopters, which are verysuccessful at suppressing fire on state land.Those Montana experts were forced toremain on the ground watching valuableresources burn until federal helicoptersarrived four hours later. The state helicopterscould have been there in 30 minutes. The firewent unchecked in its vital first hours whenthe chance for suppression is highest.

Throughout the West, local, state, andfederal resources became overwhelmed.According to the federal government, thisyear’s wildfires “exceeded national opera-tional capability.” The national preparedness

Destruction of the WestBureaucratic central planning has failed because there’s no incentive to manage the resource right.

The more the West burns, the more money the agencies get, and the more lives and livelihoods are ruined.

By Judy Boyle

Twenty-two-year-old Kate Blackstockbrings home a calforphaned by theSoda Fire.

OPPOSITE:Mary Blackstock,member of theOwyhee RangelandFire ProtectionAssn., watches theSoda Fire bearingdown on theBrandau Ranch.The fire line held tosave the place.

TOP: After timely rains there is abundant grass,but BLM forced ranchers to leave allotments full offine fuels. It all burned. BOTTOM: A raging infernoroars towards the Blackstock Ranch at 2 a.m. Thebarn, corrals and home were saved. Lost are spring,summer, and fall allotments, plus their privatepasture. Cattle lost were unknown at press time.

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was “level 5,” the highest level,during August and much ofSeptember. More than 25,000firefighters, 200 U.S. soldiers,126 experts from Canada, NewZealand, and Australia, numer-ous state National Guardsmen,volunteers from rural firedepartments and associations,and landowners battled blazesthroughout the West. Canadasent several “superscooper”planes, each with 1,600-galloncapacity. Out-of-state volun-teers and far-flung familymembers poured in to helpothers defend their property.(See “Kamiah Fires,” page 76.)By mid-September, more thannine-million acres hadburned—three times theacreage compared to 2014.The pattern of fires escap-

ing the initial chance to extinguish thembefore morphing into rapidly expandingmonsters was repeated across Idaho, Oregon,Montana, and beyond. Once fire grows intoan inferno and the winds hit it, there is littlechance for control no matter how many mil-lions of dollars and resources are thrown atit. Often fire-agency websites show dates ofestimated containment as “October,” mean-ing “when the snow puts them out.” Thank-fully, early September snows stopped manyof these raging western fires.The fire triangle requires three things: oxy-

gen, temperature, and fuel. Fuel is the onlycontrol man has in depriving the fire. Naturalfuel growth does not stop just becausebureaucracy is at a standstill. Fuel reductionthrough livestock grazing to reduce brushbuild-up in the forest and fine fuels build-upon rangelands along with logging to reduceovercrowding in the forest is a win-win foranyone who truly cares about the land. Firefighting on federal land has created

skyrocketing budgets and expenses. The firebudget in one BLM district alone hasquadrupled since 2000. For the first time inthe 110-year U.S. Forest Service’s history,more than 50 percent of its budget goes tofighting fires—money which used to be ded-icated to timber management, fuels reduc-tion, and wildlife habitat improvement.Early September figures show the North-

west at 929,071 acres of federal lands burned,with 39,641 acres of nonfederal landsburned. The Great Basin numbers are: feder-

al, 466,601 acres, and nonfederal, 11,289acres. We do know that costs and destroyedacreage have exploded since the first warningwas issued decades ago. Firefighting on fed-eral land has become a big business with lit-tle incentive to put fires out early. Just as witheverything else, if it doesn’t make commonsense, then follow the money. No one blamesthe firefighters themselves. It’s the federalpolicies put in place from the 1990s to thepresent that is annihilating the West.What are the lessons learned from these

massive fires and how do we prevent themfrom happening again? Beginning in themid-1990s, Congress and others have issuedmany reports warning of disaster if the fed-eral government didn’t return to active nat-ural-resource management. Dale Bosworth,former Forest Service chief, famously statedthat the federal land-management agenciesare locked in the “paralysis of analysis.” Con-flicting laws and regulations have providedenvironmental groups, seeking nonmanage-ment, the tools to stop all resource manage-ment with endless, time-consuming appealsand lawsuits. The National EnvironmentalPolicy Act, originally called the Reduction inPaperwork Act, instead has become the

“Mother of All PaperworkAct” with its overwhelmingprocesses. Agencies havefound it easier to not man-age or very minimally man-age rather than spend alltheir time drowning in“process” and court. Eachtime they lose or settle a law-suit, federal taxpayers areforced to reward the envi-ronmental groups withEqual Access to Justice Act(EAJA) funds.In 2003, Dale Bosworth

addressed the issue of annu-al forest growth in excess ofremovals, like the situationin Idaho. In an article enti-tled “Fires and ForestHealth, Our Future is atStake” he wrote: “Forests areovercrowded with trees.

Beset by drought and under stress fromcompetition, the trees are more susceptibleto insect attack and catastrophic fire thanever before.... We have some 73 million acresof national forestlands at risk from wildlandfires that could compromise human safetyand ecosystem integrity.... The situation issimply not sustainable—not socially, noteconomically, not ecologically.” Twelve yearslater this situation has become even moreominous.In a 2007 University of Idaho report, U.S.

Forest Service land in Idaho had 72 percentof the timber acreage, 81 percent of tree(wood) growth, 85 percent of the annual treemortality, and 10 percent of the wood har-vest, providing a tremendous fuel load. Thesame is true in rangeland. The sharp reduc-tion or removal of livestock and the refusalto remove junipers supply excessive fuelwaiting for a lightning strike. This year inOwyhee County, grass was amazingly abun-dant due to timely rains. Instead of allowingranchers to harvest that grass by increasingthe number of cattle or extending the graz-ing season, the BLM forced ranchers to leaveallotments full of fine fuels. That extra fuelwas the piece the fire triangle needed for themassive Soda Fire.As an unintended consequence, fuels’

overload on federal lands with resulting fireplaces state and private lands at great risk.Besides being adjacent to a bad federal neigh-bor, as federal land burns out of control, allthe firefighting resources are expended, leav-

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“We have some 73 million acres of national forest-lands at risk from wildland fires that could compro-

mise human safety and ecosystem integrity…. The situation is simply not sustainable—not socially, not economically, not ecologically.”

—CHIEFDALE BOSWORTH, U.S. FOREST SERVICE, 2003

By mid-September, more thannine-million acres had

burned—three times theacreage compared to 2014.


ing little to nothing to support efforts if light-ning strikes private lands. This was the case innorth-central Idaho in the Kamiah Fire com-plex. The state was spread too thin with firein numerous locations and was unable tooffer much assistance to landowners whenMother Nature played her hand. Nearly 50homes in the rural landscape were destroyedwith Kamiah and surrounding towns inharm’s way. Rural communities across severalwestern states were in severe danger with thisseason’s fires. Burning up forests and range-land has become common but now entiretowns are placed at grave risk. Even business-es normally considered safe from wildfire,such as fruit sheds, were destroyed. The eco-nomic ruin continues to grow each year.On Aug. 12, 2015, Idaho’s Department of

Environmental Quality issued a rarestatewide air-quality advisory. It rated the airfrom unhealthy to very unhealthy due towildfire smoke in a state that reaches fromCanada to Nevada. Idaho county commis-sioner and former state Sen. Skip Brandtdeplores how lack of proper managementhas created enormous health and safetyissues for Idaho citizens. “We can no longertolerate the status quo. We have moved fromburning up wilderness areas and nationalparks through a hands-off policy to nowburning up homes, businesses, private prop-erty, and threatening towns on a massive

scale.” Brandt believes gridlock-creating law-suits are one of the problems. “The Westmust be free to manage the land throughmodern forest and rangeland practices,” hesays. “It is vital to remove the ability of feder-al judges who are not educated in such mat-ters to flip our world upside down.”Jerry Hoagland, longtime Owyhee

County commissioner, sees another prob-lem. “The entrenched Green federal bureau-cracy, both in the local and Washington,D.C., offices, prevents managers from doingwhat’s best for the land. This lack of propermanagement ends up in catastrophic disas-ters like the Soda Fire. One phone call by aGreen staffer to either the Washington, D.C.,office or to national environmental groupsstops all commonsense management. It is ano-win situation.”With more than 50 percent of the West in

federal holdings (and only four percent in theEast), Congress and agencies in gridlock, andjudges and environmental groups taking overfederal-land management, hope of prevent-ing future massive fires is bleak without seri-ous radical change. Currently, there is littleincentive to return to commonsense manage-ment of our God-given natural resourceswith which the American West has beenblessed. Those who live on and with the landhave understood and practiced stewardshipfor generations. The rise of environmental

Don “Red” Jay, 85-year-old Korean War veteran,and his daughter, Diane, stayed to fight the fire.They saved Red’s home. Note the U.S. flag wavingin defiance of the approaching flames. BELOW:Emery Tuning, driving the Cat, and cousin JeremyGrove, holding the flashlight, returned to Kamiahto fight the fire. Embers fall all around them. (Seepage 76 for “Kamiah Fires” story.)

A fter the 2007 southern Idaho MurphyComplex rangeland fire, ranchersknew something had to change to

enable them to fight destructive wildfiresthat can decimate their cattle herds, pasture,wildlife and habitat. During that fire, arancher was desperately trying to removefuel by building a firebreak where he knew itwould be effective. In front of that blaze werecattle, private land, fences, that year’s sum-mer and fall pasture, pasture for future years,wildlife and the habitat needed for the manyspecies which share the high desert country.He knew if that fire was denied fuel, itsvicious run would end right there. However,the federal government viewed his firebreakas “unauthorized.” He was ordered to imme-diately stop and leave the area under threatof arrest and severe fines. This clash of ideas

and authority repeated itself over and over inIdaho to the detriment of all.In 2012, ranchers around Mountain

Home, Idaho, decided to replicate Oregonwhere the BLM and local ranchers haveworked together fighting fires since the1960s. That authority had been unused inIdaho law. Ranchers formed a RangelandFire Protection Association or RFPA. Thisnonprofit association is made up of rancherstrained by the BLM to legally stop rangelandfires. The RFPA motto is “neighbors helpingneighbors.” This comes naturally to westernranchers. It is ingrained early when childrensee their parents drop everything to help aneighbor, whether it’s an adjoining ranch or100 miles away.The Jordan Valley, Ore., RFPA, formed

nine years ago, currently has 100 members.

President Silas Skinner states: “Oregon hasprovided our RFPA with five trucks and 24slide-in pumpers for ranch pickups. We alsouse private equipment from the variousranches. Everyone works together duringfires, including local ladies bringing us food,water, and supplies.”After the Soda Fire, the Oregon BLM rec-

ognized the Jordan Valley RFPA for defend-ing the town of Vale as the fire approached.They were the first firefighters at Homedaleto protect homes. During the postfiredebriefing, 122 community members werepresent, which impressed the Oregon BLM.“We take protecting our families, neigh-

bors, property, and rangeland very seriously,”says Skinner. “We don’t do this for a living.We are here to assist.”Through RFPAs, ranchers provide the

Rangeland Fire Protection Associations Neighbors helping neighbors comes naturally to western ranchers. The feds and enviros should follow their lead.

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groups that want to preserve the natural envi-ronment has created the opposite of whatthey seek—unless their real motive is to elim-inate man from the western landscape.There are intelligent, honest environ-

mentalists who truly want to do what is bestfor the natural landscape. Then there arethose whose real motives are the removal ofman. The founder of Western WatershedsProject often publicly stated that his motivewas to end ranching in the West. Othergroups worship the creation rather than theCreator, believing nothing should betouched by man. To those who seek removalof man, the end justifies the means. If theymust destroy the natural environment toaccomplish their goal, so be it. They gleefullysue to receive EAJA money which funds theirnext lawsuit. They threaten and blackmailbig business to support their efforts. Theenvironment is the big loser for both peopleand wildlife. Citizens and their elected offi-cials have the power to stop this. How muchlonger will we allow these bullies to continuetheir radically destructive agenda? ■

Judy Boyle is an Idaho state legislator whosefamily has been in agriculture for generations.She lives in the middle of a large irrigated valleyand was relieved to be battling mosquitoesrather than wildfires. She was director ofnatural resources for Congressman HelenChenoweth-Hage.

initial attack as they are usually the first onesto notice a fire and have stopped many dan-gerous blazes early on. Last summer, oneOwyhee rancher extinguished 12 small light-ning-strike fires on his own without fear offederal fines or jail time.Ranchers have valuable knowledge of

the terrain, access routes, prevailing winds,and location of water. Fire managers quick-

ly learned the value of localknowledge to plot out accessroutes and water sources and inassessing and strategizing on awildfire. By training and work-ing together on fires, rancherslearn how to work with theBLM firefighters and BLMlearns to listen and respect theranchers’ knowledge of the land.In May 2014, two Idaho

RFPAs and BLM were honoredwith the prestigious nationalPulaski Award given in recogni-tion for outstanding contribu-

tions to wildland firefighting.However, theSoda Fire highlighted conflicts between theIdaho and Oregon BLM’s relationships withthe RFPAs. Skinner explains: “We have agreat relationship with the Oregon BLM andthey recognize us as a firefighting entity.Idaho BLM does not. Idaho BLM does notaccept Oregon BLM training nor our fire-fighting experience. We were called to help

fight the Soda Fire in Idaho but quickly raninto problems. Oregon BLM gives us free-dom to operate where Idaho BLM wanted tooversee our every move.”Currently, RFPAs cover most of south-

western Idaho and have proven to be verycost-effective, saving natural resources,wildlife, federal taxpayer money, cattle, andprivate property.Charlie Lyons, one of the founding

members of the Mountain Home RFPA,explains the difference between the BLM andthe RFPA: “Ranchers don’t want to be profes-sional firefighters. We just want to ranch andnot have wildfires threaten and kill every-thing in sight. We can lose $100,000 worth offeed in a few hours and a lifetime of cattlegenetics in one day. Ranchers see wildfires asa huge waste of resources going up in smokeand a threat to our families’ future. We arethe ones who have to pick up the pieces andrebuild our lives once the fire is out.”

—Judy Boyle

The Soda Fire in Owyhee County, Idaho,did more than just burn 285,000 acresof rangeland. It has placed at grave risk

generations of Owyhee County families, thebackbone of the rural economy. It has left inquestion the populations of many wildlifespecies. It has provided opportunity formassive takeover by noxious weeds andinvasive species. It has established new fearin town families who believed themselvessafe from such a raging inferno. It denudedground to allow for severe erosion andflooding. It belched untold tons of toxinsinto the atmosphere. It transformed anentire landscape into the desolation of blackash, and turned beautiful Owyhee Countyinto a moonscape.Owyhee County ranchers are angry at

government for failing to heed clear warn-ings of impending calamity and not acting inthe best interest of the land. They are angrywith environmental groups which don’tunderstand the land and how it functions.They are angry with federal judges in theirivory towers who have no clue of reality.They are angry with politicians who repre-

sent nonfederal-land states with no vestedinterest but who refuse to vote for seriouschanges in conflicting laws.Government systems and processes have

failed the land, wildlife and citizens ofOwyhee County and much of the West.Fourth-generation rancher Inez Jacalaments: “As I grew up, my family consideredBLM employees as friends. We brought theminto our homes, fed them, helped them how-ever we could. They treated us as partners inmanaging the land. Today, we don’t feel treat-ed as a valued partner.”Connie Brandau, whose husband’s

grandfather homesteaded their ranch, puts itbluntly: “Environmentalists created this fire.Their lawsuits, their judge’s decisions, andthe BLM’s fright of being sued just friedmore chicken [sage grouse] in five days ofwildfire than has all Colonel Sanders’ Idahorestaurants in the last year!”Connie remembers a hearing on grazing

permits in front of federal District CourtJudge Winmill nearly a decade ago. After-wards, the founder of Western Watershedstold a reporter, “We just handed the ranchers

Ranchers Won’t Be Cowed For ranching families resilience is imperative and quitting not an option.

RFPAs use membership fees to purchase insurance andadditional equipment. BLM provides Idaho members withinitial and yearly refresher training, personal protectionclothing, fire shelters, and handheld radios. Most RFPAs havesurplus BLM water tenders and an engine. RFPAs use Cats,graders, and other equipment from members’ ranches.

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the smallpox-infected blanket.”The environmentalists had asked the fed-

eral judge for, and received: reductions ingrazing AUMs, reductions in length of seasonof use, changes of season of use (springturnout dates on top of the mountain in thesnow before the grass begins to grow andcalving season just starting), implementingstubble height, restrictions on browse ofwoody species, and the fencing off of riparianareas. The environmentalists clearly knewthese were unworkable for ranchers, but con-

vinced the judge that the changes were rea-sonable and best for the land. The end resultwas the immense fuel load waiting for a sparkto create destructive fire. In the environmen-talists’ quest to eliminate ranchers, the judge’sactions destroyed what he thought he hadprotected.

Ted Blackstock, from another long line ofOwyhee ranchers, is frustrated with the lackof any government accountability. “Thebureaucrats have nothing to lose with theirdecisions or lack of proper management.They gamble nothing and the fires don’tdirectly affect their paychecks. Ranchersstand to lose everything. We have always hadour private land for backup, but the firedestroyed even that.”

This lack of accountability by the govern-ment easily explains the difference in philos-ophy regarding fire. Ranchers want firesextinguished immediately (which is the mis-sion of the Rangeland Fire Protection Associ-ations), yet the federal government’s missionis to “manage” fire.

These ranchers and many more lost alltheir spring, summer and fall grazing—pos-sibly for years. The government hasn’t beenflexible after past fires but insists there will beno grazing for a set number of years, even if

the land responds quickly with abundantgrass. Instead, that forage is allowed to buildup for the next lightning strike and a repeatcatastrophe.

Ranchers are the ones who face the deadcattle, and, even worse, those that have to beput down because of their horrific burns.There are orphaned calves to care for andcows whose burns may hopefully heal.Ranchers are not normally faced with treat-ing burned animals that require a differenttype of care. As soon as the fire has passed,

ranchers must scram-ble to gather cattle,sort for their properowners, and searchfor new pasture. Cat-tle are fed hay andobserved for prob-lems like smokeinhalation andinjuries not readilynoticed in the imme-diate gather. Addi-tional worries arelosing the best genet-ics in the herd,stressed cows abortingtheir calves, and, look-

ing toward the next calving season, question-ing if the surviving cows’ teats are scarred toobadly to deliver milk to newborn calves.

However, for ranching families, quitting isnot an option. Ranchers are used to thingsthey can’t control like weather, prices, andhard luck. They have been on their ranchesfor generations and look forward to the nextgenerations of children and grandchildrentaking the reins. Ranchers have always madethe best of bad situations, making lemonadeout of the lemons handed to them by nature,the government, or environmental groupswhich erect obstacles that would level others.

Inez Jaca says: “We are proud of our lega-cy, take our stewardship very seriously, andlove this land. Our four grandchildren, agesseven to 12, are very much partners in thisranch doing everything from buckarooing topicking rocks out of the fields as they learnproper management of the resources. I lookforward to my grandchildren continuing ourranching tradition as the sixth generation onthis land.”—Judy Boyle

A fund has been established through theOwyhee Cattlemen’s Association for affectedranchers at http://www.owyheecattlemen.com.

As soon as the fire passed, ranchers scrambled to gather cattle, sort for theirproper owners, and search for new pasture.

Kamiah FiresThe convergence of community.

Aseries of lightning strikes hit the Clear-water country of north-central IdahoAugust 2015, touching off more than

100 fires on federal, state, and private lands.Wildfires elsewhere had federal and statefirefighters stretched thin with few resourcesavailable to the Clearwater Valley region. Afire on the edge of Orofino sparked trees justbehind the mill. Unless it was quicklystopped, it could engulf the entire town. Fireswere all around Kamiah and the outlyingareas. Winds were 40 to 50 mph, throwingembers up to a mile ahead of the flames.Trees were exploding with fields, outbuild-ings, and homes ablaze. Thick smoke madedriving hazardous and breathing difficult.

The communities soon realized fightingthese fires would be up to them. They putout a call for help to their family membersliving elsewhere. The response was hearten-ing. Adults who had been raised in the Clear-water country arrived, bringing their friendsfrom all over Idaho and other states. Achurch from Texas sent volunteers andequipment. It was a lesson in how Americanvolunteers respond to an emergency.

Farms, ranches and rural subdivisionsare scattered throughout the rolling farmand timberlands of the Clearwater Valleyregion. Andrew Puckett, Kamiah areafarmer, rancher, beekeeper, and chief of oneof the rural fire departments, put 1,000 mileson his personal four-wheeler in just oneweek during the fires. “We were continuallyon the defense for a week and a half straight,grabbing a few hours sleep, constantly beingpushed back by the fires. We would set up afire line only to have the high winds carry firebehind us. We moved from house to housedoing our best to make them defensible.Some were impossible to defend based onwhere they were built, the type of roof andsiding, and lack of defensive space aroundthe homes. We always did our best to saveproperty and we thank God no lives werelost through fire.” A map shows “the island,”surrounded by fire, in which Puckett’s volun-teers and other firefighters franticallylabored.

Phillip Kelley wrote a blog as he foughtthe fire, telling of 60-foot-high flamespushed by 45 mph winds and the courage

(Continued on page 80)

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It is an apocalyptic scene of cattle meltinginto scorched earth. An occasional rabbitruns across the flattened landscape, or

maybe a deer. If any sagebrush is left stand-ing, it is a bare, upright, black bone.

This is only part of the aftermath of theIdaho Soda Fire, which consumed nearly300,000 acres. The fire ignited late last sum-mer, and was at one point considered thelargest fire to burn in the United States.

Wildlife was also killed. Approximately 36grazing allotments burned in the ragingflames. Officials say the fire was probablycaused by lightning.

“I’m a fifth-generation rancher,” saysGwen Miller. “We found dead cows withcalves beside them and other cows where thefetus had blown right out of them. We lost abarn and the guest cabin but were able tosave the main cabin.” The Millers haveranched in the area for 35 years and lost atleast 47 head of cows and 31 calves. Theyown 2,000 personal acres and also own graz-ing rights to run on BLM and state sections.

“We went in to gather and didn’t knowwhich way to go,” Gwen says. “We tried tolock them into the black areas to keep themsafer from any new burns. Now we look for-ward and make choices every day aboutwhat we need to do immediately and what

we need longer term.”Ranchers hard-hit by the fire were

already going through their winter hay inAugust since they had no grazing groundleft. At $120 a ton, one ton will feed about 70cows a day. The Millers took a $40,000 hitjust in hay.

One of the hardest things for the Millersto stomach is that they are a one-iron outfit.This means that they have bred and raised

their own herd without buying outsidereplacement cattle. “We have a cattle buyerthat we have dealt with for 16 years,” says sonJason. “He knows the genetics and history ofthe cattle we raise and we’re proud of that. Alot of our history went up in that fire.”

However, there was hope in the midst ofthis disaster. Outside help was quick torespond in whatever way they could. Foodand water were donated by individuals andbusinesses and taken to area ranchers. Peoplefrom Idaho and Oregon donated hay.

Farm Bureau agent Wayne Hungate saysthe Millers are lucky to have their cattleinsured as well as their buildings and equip-ment. He estimates that replacement costsfor a cow will range from $2,500 to $3,000per head.

Scott Jensen, from University of IdahoExtension in Owyhee County, was also on

the ground seeing what he could do. “Ourrole is to try to assess and coordinate ranch-ers’ needs and match needs to resources.”

There is also hope as state and federalofficials meet with ranchers and look at pri-orities regarding rehabilitation. The Millersremain positive, even though history withthe BLM has not been good.

“The BLM, Department of Lands, Fish &Game and other agencies met with ranchersto look at priorities,” Tim Miller says. OneBLM official who met twice with ranchersback in August says: “We’re getting a com-plete list of range improvements and otherchanges that need to be made from theranchers so we can take that into considera-

tion.” Reseeding options and planting timeswere discussed. BLM spokesperson KarenMiranda says: “Ranchers are a big part of thisprocess. We’re hoping to plant in October.”

Although the grass may emerge inspring, it still leaves ranchers with uncertain-ty. “There was a shortage of pasture beforethe fire,” says Hungate, “and now the short-age is even more dire.” Immediate needs arehay, and places to put cattle long-term.Ranchers don’t know if they should sell theircattle, put money in the bank and then buyagain in two to three years when there isground available to graze, or tough it outwith what little they have. ■

Andrea Scott writes from southern Idaho.

From left: Scott Jensen, Wayne Hungate, Tori Miller with son Clancy, Jason Miller, Tim Miller withgranddaughter Hadlee Brown, and Gwen Miller stand in front of cattle they have saved from the fire.Some will still have to be put out of their misery because their injuries are too grave. TOP RIGHT:Whatused to be a healthy cow on grass. LOWER RIGHT:Mule deer races across a barren landscape.

The AftermathA sad sight to behold. Words and photos by Andrea Scott.



Open secret: the federal governmentknows exactly how to protect the Westfrom catastrophic wildfire. Powerful

interests just don’t want it done. Despite this,Gila County, Ariz., has won that war for 10years, in a vast, windy, much-used forestrecreation area crackling with lightning intinder-dry fuels. It was a wildfire theme park. In June 1990, a new kind of fire appeared

there. The deadly Dude Fire was the nation’sfirst megafire. It was terrifying. Itsnever-seen, frenzied behaviorkilled six firefighters, burned24,000 acres in two nationalforests, and destroyed 63 homes,previewing multimillion acres ofdisaster. In 2002, the 468,638-acreRodeo-Chediski Fire burned partof Gila County and 2004 broughtthe 119,500-acre Willow Fire.That’s just a few examples. Thatyear, new but unshakable countysupervisor Tommie Martinapproached Tonto National Forestofficials. “What must we do,together,” she politely demanded,“to actually end this mess?” Totheir great credit, they stepped upand made necessary changes. Thatshouldn’t involve career risks.Martin loves rigorous, truth-

based cooperation. She inventedmuch-imitated, team-focused CollaborativeResource Management. So a county/feder-al/ state/NGO/private-citizen team wasformed. Resource Management Interna-tional’s Eric Schwennesen was hired to rideherd and write a plan. Since then, the coun-ty’s commitment “to minimize every fire”has been severely tested. Eighteen ignitionsmet U.S. Forest Service (FS) “catastrophicpotential” status.“2012’s threat level was scary,” Martin

recalls. Soon, the Poco Fire took off. “TheForest Service feared another Wallow Fire[2011],” she winces. That huge, needless blazetorched over 538,000 nearby acres, crushingecological values and quality of life for gener-ations. In Wallow Fire-like steep terrain, Red

Flag winds, and “sea of gasoline” fuels, Gila’sPoco Fire died at 2.2 percent of the Wallow-monster’s size. Matt Reidy, Poco Fire incidentcommander, had high praise for the county’scontribution. “Gila County was prepared andinvested,” Reidy says. “Their people werealways there, and always helpful.” When Martin weighed in, Tonto Forest

leaders well knew their system’s worst weak-ness: far too few depots for water-droppinghelicopters (Helitack); 98.5 percent of thecounty is federal land; and money is scarce.Martin and the Gila County wild bunchused determination and “redneck ingenuity”to cobble up 44 effective water depots fromspare parts, war surplus and grit. Water refilltimes now average one minute.

“It’s worth it. Helitack drops turn littlefires into nonfires,” Martin says, “and keepmidsized fires from blowing up till reinforce-ments come. Still, the policy game’s riggedagainst us. Helitack’s really a highly effective,highly courageous Band-Aid. The systemgets overwhelmed. They’ve sent our coptersto Texas. Then we’re sitting ducks.”The FS also knew that area towns were

completely vulnerable. It had plans, but nofunding, and told the team. Again with itsown money, the county thinned forestsaround towns. Later, the feds started Wild-land Urban Interface fuels reductions. Mar-tin frowns, “Of course, WUI treatments,anywhere, are just another Band-Aid onmonstrous, pre-catastrophic fuel blocks.” Consulting together, Martin and clients

healed vast acreages, restoring biodiversity,

health and prosperity. She’s a key, foundingleader of Arizona’s Four Forests Initiative,which scientifically mandates and authorizescommercial tree harvesters to carefully, butimmediately, separate fuel blocks in federalforests. High-level federal bungling andalleged corruption interfered. Still, collaborative efforts saved firefight-

ers’ and residents’ lives, homes, and lands inGila County. “We set out to end this crisis,and save our county,” Martin says. “Workingtogether, we absolutely can. But I see no evi-dence that some policymakers want to end it.They’ve led us out of the frying pan [loggingtreatments they didn’t like] into the fire. Wewant out. I believe in environmental eco-nomics. Tree harvest once funded the whole

Get Out of the FireMoney clouds, moral courage, cooperation and redneck ingenuity. By Steven H. Rich

ABOVE: Courageous Gila County supervisor Tommie Martin has long advocated sane, sound-science, collaborativesolutions to deadly threats. RIGHT: Cash-strapped, federally dominated Gila County made 44 “Helitack” waterdepots from spare parts, war surplus and grit. Present Helitack turnaround time: one minute. Result? Fires die small.AT TOP: Fire-safety-symbol Smokey Bear burns.

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The Wallow Fire in 2011, a huge, needless blaze,

torched over 538,000 acresand crushed ecological values and quality of life

for generations.



Forest Service, with a profit. Now, fire bud-gets eat them up.” Many others doubt policy-makers’ motives.

Last year, Utah’s governor and legislatorslearned that more than 80 percent of thestate’s unburned watersheds are in a pre-cat-astrophic wildfire state. For this, and furthermismanagements, they and most westernstates have demanded ownership of BLMand Forest Service lands.

Beautiful, historic Spring City, Utah, hasbeen bracketed by severe fires. Resident andwilderness survival expert Brad VanDykewas appropriately alarmed. On the town’sEmergency Preparedness Committee, heacted like Martin and brought in an expert toexplain Spring City watershed’s pre-cata-strophic state and its options. Expert towns-folk also reported that fire-caused floodscould wreck the town.

Despite federal assurances, VanDyke wasdeputized to repeatedly engage FS bureau-cracy. The Spring City area’s dotted withponds. Its Helitack should crush the fires,right? “What’s the mystery?” Brad persisted.“Why do fires keep getting so big?” He knowsthat Gila County’s promised one or morecopters are within easy range. “How longdoes Helitack fly to get here?” he asked. Onebrave informant answered: “If things workright, one to two hours [unacceptable]—ifthey’re not on another fire [unacceptable].Pray one doesn’t start. We can’t put crews in.Too dangerous.”

But the fiery devil’s not in such details.It’s in false policy assumptions that savenothing but the recreational illusion that hik-ers have somehow entered the 17th century.VanDyke faces a merciless machine thatnever questions itself.

Proof? The “fire is always natural/good”premise has disastrously failed for decades,within sight and smell of millions of urbanhomes—and still continues.

Here’s why: Ignoring natural law, roman-tic (Green-think) nature philosophies conta-minated fact-orientation in natural-scienceclasses long ago. So, generations of Green-think produced mounds of fuzzy, quibbling,junk science. Rather than asking “Canecosystems and species tolerate this” and“What creates health and abundance” theironly interest is, “Is this caused by randomforces” (their definition of “natural”). Green-think “experts” contaminated media, schoolcurricula, and public perception. Result:crazy policy, crazy politicians, catastrophe,and a massive cover-up of the “Trashing of

the West.”Despite a century of

personal heroism andsacrifice, Forest Serviceculture is desensitized tosevere fire’s terrible dam-age. Policy-speak says,“Fire is natural,” but theexperienced know:Beyond lower severitylevels, fire’s not a healingforce; it’s our worstoption.

Agency media offi-cers don’t use the fire-jargon term, “playing hide the iron.” But theyknow it. It’s a budget game for command-level personnel. It means, “Let’s order up waytoo many fire engines, bulldozers, etc., so wecan get more money.” They don’t ever say“light ’em and fight ’em” either. That’s thepractice of letting prescribed fires “escape”—for money. When will media mention a“money cloud” or “cumulus overtimus” onthe air? Scientists call these “pyrocumulus”clouds. They’re made of water vapor fromburned trees, animals, other plants and soils.Mushroom-shaped money clouds signal bigfires and long fights—with a lot of overtime.The giant Rodeo-Chediski Fire was, forexample, started by a Forest Service part-time employee—to create a job opportunity.No, this pattern is not funny. But it does illus-

trate the pervasiveness of the problem.Scientific harvest treatments are a heal-

ing ecological force, every time. Did youknow? Flood flows—therefore harm to fishand general biodiversity, erosion, pollution,etc.—from cutting all the trees in a treat-ment site are a measured 2,293 percent lessthan from an average severity wildfire.When will media and schools teach thesefacts? The Healthy Forests Restoration Actof 2003 is already the law of the land, forobvious reasons. Science has known whatto do for a very long time. The crisis is amoral one. ■

Steve Rich is president of Rangeland Restora-tion Academy. He’s a rancher, consultant,writer, artist and nature advocate.

ABOVE: 1909 logging treatment returned tree density to fire-safe, Native American-managed levels.Selected cuttings in 1948, 1958 and 1968 kept densities tolerable. By 1979, anti-science politicsprogressively dominated federal agencies. Rapidly multiplying fuels grew into “pre-catastrophic” firestates in most western watersheds. Since 1989, forest health has collapsed entirely. Wildfires haveexploded. BELOW: “Money cloud.” Termed “pyrocumulus” by science, they’re made of water from killedtrees, soils and wildlife. Money cloud refers to the self-inflicted $1.5-billion government “fire industry.”

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and determination of the people to stop themonster. At one point the Kamiah Mill’s logdeck was burning, risking the entire mill andtown. A man took charge by jumping in anearby loader, separating the burning logsout of the deck, and tossing them into theriver, at grave risk to his own life. It wasthrough his family that John Leverkuhn ofVidor, Texas, became involved in the region’sfirefighting efforts. John is the owner of JetOilfield Services whose motto is “failure isnot an option.” John drove his huge tankertruck to Idaho which he normally employsto deliver fracking fluids in the oil fields. Nineother members of the Vidor Church of theLord Jesus came with John to help in the fire-fighting effort.

The Leverkuhns and Kelleys becameacquainted two decades ago when John andPhillip attended an Idaho church meetingand instantly connected. When HurricaneRita hit, the Kelleys’ Idaho church sent dona-tions for the victims of that disaster. Johnsays, “We lost everything in Hurricane Rita.God brought people from all over America tohelp our community rebuild. When we heard

about the Idaho fires, we immediately con-tacted the Kelleys to ask how we could help.”

Families who lost everything but thevehicle in which they escaped have been sur-rounded with an outpouring of love, sup-port, and assistance. Cloninger’s, a longtime,family-owned grocery store in Kamiah, gave$500 to each of the nearly 50 families wholost their homes to help with food and gas.

The Kamiah Community Credit Unionopened an account for cash donations with amatch up to $100,000. A local Kamiahchurch’s new room and five semi-trailers arebursting at the seams with donated items.Unfortunately, those without homes havenowhere yet to put those items.

The people of the Clearwater region aregrateful for the assistance they did receivefrom state and federal firefighters. They areespecially grateful to family, old friends, andnewfound friends who came to their aid asvolunteers, leaving behind jobs and familiesto do a dangerous, dirty job without pay andwithout government-forced action. Thisproves once again that America is the bestcountry on earth where citizens willingly pulltogether when a need is shown.

—Judy Boyle

A fund has been established at the KamiahCommunity Credit Union for those needingassistance: www.kamiahfirerelief.org.

JANUARY 25-30, 2016 • ELKO, NEVADA

• THE WESTERN FOLKLIFE CENTER PRESENTS •THE 32ND NATIONAL COWBOY POETRY GATHERING

Featuring the art and culture of the Northern Plains

With Ian Tyson, Dave Stamey, Michael Martin Murphey, Waddie Mitchell, Stephanie Davis, Don Edwards,Wally McRae, Hot Club of Cowtown, Paul Zarzyski and many more!

Tickets on sale to Western Folklife Center members September 8 and to the general public October 8, 2015.

The nation’s oldest and largest cowboy poetry & music festival

TICKETS: WWW.WESTERNFOLKLIFE.ORG • 888-880-5885

Artwork: Comes Back by Donald F. Montileaux

KAMIAH FIRES(Continued from page 76)

John Leverkuhn brought his water truck fromTexas to help with the battle in Idaho. His mottois “failure is not an option.” LEFT: BLM’s refusalto allow managed grazing to remove excessive fuelresulted in a 285,000-acre inferno.

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Documents

Destruction of the West - RANGE magazinerangemagazine.com/features/winter-16/range-wi16-sr-fire.pdf · 2015-11-20 · Prairie City, destroying ranches, 26 homes, cattle, and wildlife