Fires in Washington State have ranchers worried about losing animals and resources, according to the Spokesman Review in Spokane.
Some ranchers, still reeling from last year’s drought, are now having to contend with fires that destroy fences, scorch pastures and fields, and kill legacy livestock. One rancher who lost 230 cattle to a wildfire in 2014 told the Spokesman Review, “Our cattle are an extension of who we are. It’s confusing to somebody in downtown Seattle who thinks we’re just putting a hamburger on the plate. The genetic decisions my dad made go back to 1940.”
Producers that lose livestock can receive federal assistance through the Livestock Indemnity Program.