Soda Fire

Yesterday we learned that Mary Blackstock and husband Ted had to survive the horrendous Soda Fire. The couple run cattle on the Owyhee front. After spending the night helping neighbors get through the ordeal, the next morning brought a spot fire near their barn and the rush to start moving cattle. “We need a place to bring cows home and start feeding them hay. Now that the fire’s hopefully out, we have to get around and see were all the cows are ending up. They're all coming down creeks in every direction. Everybody is just picking up cattle that come their way. After we get them gathered up and put somewhere we will have to go up and ride the areas that we haven’t gotten to yet and see if any cattle that are still isolated up there need to be pushed out.” Mary says the range is devastated. “Everything, deer were running, elk, quail were all just running up on the porch and trying to find their babies. Not much out there now.” The Blackstock Ranch has yet to determine the total losses. Future pasture and feed for surviving cattle is foremost on their minds. “We’ve got a pretty good bunch of hay right now but it will take more if we don’t find some pasture. It took the rest of our summer pasture, our fall pasture and all of our winter pasture too. We are going to be feeding a 100% form now till spring unless we find some place to go.”