A convoy of trucks hauling Alberta hay is expected to leave Oct. 24 for fire-ravaged British Columbia, where ranches have lost native pasture, fencing and livestock.
A group of central Albertans moved by last year’s donation of hay from Eastern Canada decided to pay the generosity forward. So far, about 400 tonnes of hay and straw have been collected, said organizer Joe Niessen of Carstairs, who is still looking for donations.
“It is quite a bit less than we need.”
Gordon Wilson, a rancher from Kamloops, B.C., and president of the Kamloops Stockmen’s Association, said all the feed will be welcome.
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“It is taking so long to get the recovery started,” he said.
“Every time you think you are getting somewhere you end up with some more problems.”
A shortage of livestock feed is the greatest area of need, but an accurate assessment of total loss is difficult.
Producers are still rounding up livestock, examining fences and monitoring grass regrowth. Burned out fencing material has to be hauled away and in some areas there are safety considerations before new fences can be erected on burned landscapes.
Producers on leases are left in limbo because no one is sure who is responsible for providing aid, refurbishing grazing land and rebuilding fences.
However, the forestry ministry announced a $3.5 million fencing and grass reseeding program Oct. 15 and it is expected most of that support will come to the Thompson-Nicola regional district.
The fires only made a tough year worse for ranchers in the B.C. Interior. Contending with severe drought, they have also been broadsided by loss of international markets due to bovine spongiform encephalopathy.
In other years, ranchers would cut back their herd by selling cows to save feed and labour costs.
“Those ranchers have had that choice (of keeping the animals) taken away from them with the spring and fall pasture,” Wilson said.
“The most obvious thing would be to downsize, but with BSE that is not an option (due to poor market conditions).”
Finding feed is the most critical.
Most of the native pasture used for fall, spring and summer grazing was lost when fires ravaged forage and burned away soil to the bedrock.
“It’s still hard to believe it’s dead,” Wilson said.
“The aftermath is going to take years to recover.”
Ranchers and forestry officials are confident native grasses will recover, but that depends to some extent on this winter’s snow pack and spring rain. However, reseeding is needed in some areas to prevent erosion and halt the spread of sturdy weeds that were the first to return.
No bluegrass or pinegrass has returned, but Canada thistle and hounds tongue are growing back quickly. These plants will set seed and be a greater problem next year, said Lila Salm, a Kamloops range agrologist.
She helped conduct a survey of losses faced by 50 ranchers affected by this summer’s forest fires.
She is still compiling numbers for the provincial and federal government to apply for aid, but knows that some people lost nearly everything.
“With the drought, BSE, everything, there are some who will not be able to make it if they don’t receive some aid,” Salm said.
Homes, outbuildings, haystacks, farm equipment and livestock were lost throughout the fire zone, where some people had to flee with less than an hour’s notice.
It is believed about 4,500 cattle were on the range. Some died in the fires, while others were rescued but may suffer long-term health effects.
The main fires were near Kamloops, Chase and Barriere, but there were also smaller outbreaks. Some hotspots may flare up next spring depending on how much snow pack and spring moisture the area receives.
Salm’s survey said the McLure fires near Barriere affected 27 ranches and burned 64,000 acres, the nearby McGillivray fire burned 28,000 acres and affected 10 ranches and the Strawberry Hill fire burned 14,000 acres. Three ranches were lost in the Venables fire, where 18,700 acres were burned.
The survey looked only at beef operations, but smaller hobby farms and agribusinesses were also hurt.
As well, electricity was out in some places for two weeks. Irrigation on hayland was shut down, hurting crops.
The B.C. government is still assessing the overall fire damage and has promised a review of its response to the threat. The forestry ministry reports 334 homes and 10 businesses were destroyed and more than 50,000 people were evacuated from their homes during the fires.
The total economic impact to the province will be measured in hundreds of millions of dollars. The review is expected by Feb. 15, with recommendations implemented in time for the 2004 fire season.
