Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire MT Declares Drought Emergency

So, do you think it's ever going to rain again enough out there to the point you can relax a bit at the wheel. We need happy-go-lucky sammo and lots of dessert coffee vids....not down in the dumper duck.....does insurance come into play in any of this?

Its complicated.

I'm sure it is Jim.

What a difference two weeks makes with these wheat fields when it's hot and dry.

July 15th


July 29th

Jeff, I met with our insurance (liability) adjuster this morning.

We only lost 1 bale and maybe 10 acres, didn't amount to anything. But it did burn maybe 130-140 acres of the neighbor's wheat. Neighbor's were cool about it, hopefully no problems.

My mom is adding extra coverage under an umbrella policy.


And speaking of neighbors, they showed up in droves to help out. Really something to see close to a dozen pickups with tanks and 3 big tractors with disks roll in.



SC, trying to stay upbeat!

There are a bunch of guys in way worse shape than us.

We have a bunch of stuff available to hay, not to mention diversified with our irrigated river bottom.

The strictly dryland guys with a limited hay base are hurting.

Thanks for the reply Sam, I was curious.

After your video post of the fire they started harvesting some of this wheat around me. (Not the one I've been photographing)

Kept me on my toes watching for smoke.

We have 3 RV'S sitting just a few feet from these now dried out wheat fields where we were working on this project for the last two weeks near Valier.

We pulled out yesterday after completing what we came to do.
I dropped down to Great Falls to help a elderly couple re-hab a old house they bought near Sand Coulee, all hay fields around me now that have recently been cut.

Best of luck with the rest of the harvest

Sorry that you guys can't have our above normal rainfall. Were still green herein in southwest Missouri with grass still growing. Best first cutting here in last few years. GW

E SD

NE MT, hauling alfalfa that was baled this morning so we can start soaking er down in a few hours.

She's a warm one in this old truck!

a few spots got lucky , but most of us only ended up with a trace out of the deal


it tries to rain , but never quite makes it

Not a breath of wind here right now, might make 100. And it's a dry heat. "My" loggers are on a task force on the Hay Creek fire, good progress brushing out a road and getting the east side fireline in, so Polebridge might still be there come winter.

Some bitch it rained hard west from somewhere in Iowa, but tapered off by Mitchell, my home away from home for the night.

Hard to believe just 5 or 6 weeks ago I was camping at Upper Whitefish Lake and baja'ed my bike over 2 feet of snow to get up to Red Meadow Lake to find the campsites there still holding 6 ft of snow..

Now it's at risk of burning, WTF!

It's gonna be a long fire season.

Totally different scenario but I will be very happy when we are done dry land haying, and the hay and machinery are home!

I think early next week we could see rain and change everything. I have a feeling it’s going to suck until fall though.

I like to hangout and kayak red meadow this time of year, it’s usually cool and not crowded.

I bet Sam.
Get it done and get that equipment home safe and sound.

I been hanging out on the east side hiding from the smoke on the west side of the divide.
Yesterday as I was rolling south on 15 about 10 miles outside of Great Falls I could see a mild blanket of smoke laying in the GF's valley. About double the daily smoke we were experiencing in Valier.

A couple of the guys helping me on these projects I've taken on just left the Flathead Valley this afternoon said the smoke was really dense there compared to here.

It's like late August or early September fire conditions in July.

And you can catch a hundred little Grayling a day 🙂

Not MT - dramaic nonetheless.
Oroville CA.

Yay... we just had the hardest rain I have seen this year. Would have been better as a slow, steady drencher, but I'll take it. Rained hard for over an hour here in Johnson County, WY.
This morning I went fly fishing at one of my favorite lakes for big trout. Fished it with a buddy less than a month ago and it was full. Ranchers have it drawn down to where you have to walk 50 yards from the original shoreline to get to the water.

Just a hint of smoke here today.


Fairly fresh air.





Boomer, that is crazy.