Organizations and businesses in Wyoming are rallying to raise money to donate fence supplies to farmers and ranchers in need, following the wildfires this summer.
There have been five fires this summer: the House Draw, Flat Rock, Constitution, Remington and Fish Creek fires. All have primarily destroyed farm and ranch lands in the northern part of the state.
Among those areas most devastated by the House Draw fire was Dave Belus' ranch located about 15 miles east of Buffalo. He lost more than 46,000 acres of his land, which he said is about 90 percent of the land in that particular ranch.
Belus said it's a day that is permanently burned into his mind.
"We didn't know what the extent was," Belus said. "We didn't know what we had and what we had lost. All I know is when I topped the hill coming out of Sheridan, the plume of smoke was unbelievable."
Belus said the House Draw fire began near his property and was first started by a lightning strike on Aug. 21. Belus said 10 cattle were killed by the blaze and hundreds of fenceposts destroyed by the flames.
"You can see right here the fence is literally on the ground," Belus told MTN as he drove around his property. "It just burned everything off."
Somehow, the buildings and structures on the property remained upright. Belus said there were some very close calls.
His daughter's home is on land located adjacent to his own. The flames came all the way up to her home and surrounded the house. A dirt road is the only thing today between her home and the scorched fields.
"By the grace of God we didn't lose much livestock, and the buildings made it out fine," Belus said. "I'm really not sure how but we're extremely lucky."
Even with the buildings surviving, the land is a shadow of what it once was. There is minimal grazing land that survived and the destroyed fence makes it impossible to hold cattle.
"It's hard to see because we put a lot of time and effort into these ranches," Belus said. "We want to keep our animals on our land. We don't want to intrude on anybody."
Belus' dilemma is common around the state. Gene Bard with the Farmer's Co-op in Sheridan said it's the most devastating summer of wildfires the agriculture industry has seen in Wyoming in decades.
"Hundreds and hundreds of miles of fencing have been destroyed," Bard said. "It's terrible. It's their livelihood. They work very hard every day and when you see it all go up in smoke, it's devastating."
That's why his business is teaming up with organizations and community members around the state to help. Bard said they are working closely with a nonprofit called the Big Horn Equestrian Center to collect money that will all be donated to help rebuild fences.
"Success of the rancher equals success of the business in town," Bard said. "So it comes full circle. It really does."
Bard said donations can go directly to the Equestrian Center or the Farmer's Co-op and that all of the proceeds will go to helping farmers around the state. Belus said it's a gesture that means the world to him and others in a time of need.
"Just to have that support means you're not fighting the battle yourself," Belus said. "You've got people that are trying to raise money, that are trying to get fencing supplies, that have your back when you need it most."
And with an uphill battle ahead, Belus said it's all the support he needs to attack the rebuild head on — knowing adversity is a part of the trade.
"Nobody said this was going to be an easy life, but it's the life we choose," Belus said with a smile. "And we like it, so we're going to be okay."
