Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire A Cattleman's Lament- I cry for the mountains and the legacy lost The Bear Fire

By Dave Daley, Butte County Rancher & CCA Immediate Past President:

It is almost midnight. We have been pushing hard for 18-20 hours every day since the Bear Fire tore through our mountain cattle range on September 8th, and there is so much swirling in my head I can’t sleep anyway. The fire destroyed our cattle range, our cattle, and even worse our family legacy. Someone asked my daughter if I had lost our family home. She told them “No, that would be replaceable. This is not!” I would gladly sleep in my truck for the rest of my life to have our mountains back.

I am enveloped by overwhelming sadness and grief, and then anger. I’m angry at everyone, and no one. Grieving for things lost that will never be the same. I wake myself weeping almost soundlessly. And, it is hard to stop.

I cry for the forest, the trees and streams, and the horrible deaths suffered by the wildlife and our cattle. The suffering was unimaginable. When you find groups of cows and their baby calves tumbled in a ravine trying to escape, burned almost beyond recognition, you try not to wretch. You only pray death was swift. A fawn and small calf side by side as if hoping to protect one another. Worse, in searing memory, cows with their hooves, udder and even legs burned off who had to be euthanized. A doe laying in the ashes with three fawns, not all hers I bet. And you are glad they can stand and move, even with a limp, because you really cannot imagine any more death today. Euthanasia is not pleasant, but sometimes it’s the only option. But you don’t want more suffering. How many horrible choices have faced us in the past three days?

More at:

https://calcattlemen.org/2020/09/23...p;utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=legacy

No words...

No words...

For those of you who believe all Californians are only what you see in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Damn....

Heartbreaking. I'd read this article a few days ago on the Friends of Lake Madrone facebook page. Luckily, our family cabin survived the fire but many of our neighbor's homes burned to the ground.

I know the country he's describing. I've deer hunted up in the area. Rugged with steep canyons and not many roads. Not easy to fight a fire up there, especially when the winds kick up like they did. Damned shame.

Difficult and painful to read. No man or animal should have to experience a fire like this. memtb

Share it far and wide.

Just damn!

Sobering to say the least. Man that's terrible.

East of I 5 California is conservative. Too bad the metro areas control the government of the state. I often hear talk or Red States and Blue States, but the truth is that if a state has more people in urban areas, it will likely vote blue. If it has more folks in rural areas, it will vote Red.

Very sad situation for that rancher, and for everyone else who lost everything they'd worked hard for all their lives. Hard to imagine something like that happening. My prayers go out to them.

Patience.... Chit happens in fire ecosystems. It is hard on those there at the time, but long term means little. Succession in ecosystems means at any one time some are winning and some are losing.

The earth abides. Such incidents are heartbreaking when it happens to you and yours, but the grasses and fireweed will begin recovery with the first significant moisture within the year.(if that doesn't wash away the topsoil). The forest, of course, will take longer, but on the flip side, there will be some outstanding elk habitat (I almost said hunting- but this is CA) for several decades. If wolves, cats, bears don't eat them all.

I hope those folks can withstand the economic hit until Nature puts it right for them again.

Exactly the same situation on the other coast, in NY. A beautiful place with a spectacular outdoors and populated by salt of the earth people.....all under the thumb of that filthy city.

As a farmer and cattleman we learn to deal with losses incurred every day such as broken equipment, the death of cattle, and lost or destroyed crops. I can not fathom the loss of it all in one day. Our thoughts and prayers go out to those that have.

That would be heartbreaking.

I can feel his frustration and pain.

Cattlemen care for their stock much more than people realize.

Damn Fats,

I did not need to see that this morning.

Hard not to feel for the family and ranch workers, not to mention those animals.

Take care up there Geno. This fire season ain't over yet.

The fire here in 91 burned many, many cattle.

Horses, sheep...you name it.

A porcupine with his quills all burned off looks just like a beaver.

Sort of a not so fun fact.....

There was a nice chill in the air this morning, even though it has been cooler. I think it might have been humidity related, up to 67F and still 39% RH (some folks don't understand, that's relatively high for this time of day. ) There have been clouds the last few days, but no rain and more importantly NO LIGHTNING.

Thanks for the concern, it's not over yet, the wind blew 21 mph yesterday, 27 MPH high for the month so far, and 18MPH right now and building.

But, I think we can see the end of fire season coming. Hopefully.