Breaks My Heart

I took a drive through the neighbor’s pasture, helping him out a tiny bit.

Remember our “little” 4,000 acre fire?

Well, it actually burned more of this neighbor’s pastures than ours and the view from the “other” side of Otter Creek Canyon was amazing.

(There was a definite moonscape feel to this formerly grassy pasture)

The photos speak of the devastation a running windblown wildfire can bring. Stories from these fires, those that continue and those that are new, still bring a lump to my throat of “WhatCouldHaveBeen”.

(A gate post remarkably still stands although most of it was burned away)

The tales are gaining more press and more people are hearing the heartwrenching quotes of ranchers like Cecil and Delores Kolka who lost half of their herd, 400 head, in the Ash Creek Fire in Montana.

(Looking across Otter Creek Canyon to our pasture. Note where the fire made a run up and out the top of the 500′ canyon on the left side of the photo.)

“Before we found our cattle we said at least we’ve got our homes and are all safe,” Delores Kolka said. “In truth, we would have rather lost everything here except our cattle.”