B.C. ranchers feel cornered by wildfires putting cattle, land at risk

VANCOUVER (CityNews) – Rushing to herd cattle away from scorched land, ranchers in B.C. say they feel cornered by wildfires coming from all sides.

Many are putting out a desperate call for help, fearing their animals and livelihoods are at risk.

“This is like 2017 on steroids,” said Kevin Boon, general manager of the B.C. Cattlemen’s Association.

Ranchers in regions west of Kamloops have been trying to get their animals to safety, riding through burned-out trees and grass, which was supposed to feed cattle in the months to come.

Robert Haywood-Farmer, who owns and manages a cattle ranch, says it’s the worst wildfire situation he’s ever seen. He helped move hundreds of cattle near the Sabiston Lake area, west of Kamloops, because of one fire.

A separate blaze damaged vast amounts of land.

“I don’t know what other infrastructure has been damaged because you can’t get right into the fires. I know there’s a lot of damage to fencing and that’s really important to us because it keeps our cattle separate from our neighbours’ cattle,” Haywood-Farmer said.

Boon echoes concerns, saying the burned land comes with consequences into the next years.

“We’re going to see that burn, and we’re not going to be able to probably put cattle on it again for two three years because we have to spend that time repairing that ground. From when these fires go through with that intensity. The cattle are one thing — we can sell our cattle off, it’s going to be at a huge expense,” he explained.

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The B.C. Cattleman’s Association says the province does have a compensation program for losses, but if hay and grass is burned across B.C., they won’t have anything to feed animals into the winter.

Ranchers called for a provincial state of emergency earlier this week, not just to respond to the immediate threat, but for relief in the months to come for an industry that will likely be devastated.

The Thompson-Nicola Regional District, which includes Kamloops and the surrounding area, had been pleading for up to 150 firefighters.

“It’s not unusual for them to go home at say 9 o’clock and then suddenly called be back because there’s another flare up and another state of local emergency has to be declared, or alternatively an evacuation has to be signed,” Ken Gillis, TNRD regional district board chair, said of the current situation. “I’ve been signing evacuation orders at 10 o’clock at night. It’s been wild.”

The B.C. government had been facing pressure from many groups and communities to declare a provincial state of emergency for weeks.

The declaration was made on Tuesday, July 21. The provincial government has denied accusations that it ignored calls from the region and it took evacuations from Osoyoos to make the call.

“We know what you’ve been dealing with in Kamloops for the last several weeks, and the men and women out fighting the fires as hard as they can. But when we receive advice that it’s going to get even worse based on what we’re seeing, the appropriate decision was to listen to that advice,” said Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth.

The provincial state of emergency gives the minister in charge the power to “do all acts and implement all procedures that the minister considers necessary to prevent, respond to or alleviate the effects of an emergency or a disaster.”

“People don’t realize how extremely volatile it is out there. It’s just an inferno waiting to happen,” said Boon.