Fires sweep through Big Horn Mountains, North Dakota

Bighorns

The toughest decision one makes when dealing with natural disasters centers around when to act.

“We weren’t worried the day the Elk Fire started in the Big Horns,” noted fifth-generation rancher Nate Kane who ranches with his family near Ranchester, Wyoming. “I thought, ‘This isn’t going to be anything. It’s late September, it’s not going to take off.’ Plus, at that time, the fire wasn’t on our permit.”

Nate’s family and an uncle run 450 head on a U.S. Forest Service permit. They trailed their cows up the mountain July 16 and were due to come off October 10. But on Sunday, September 29, a cold front rocketed in, and the fire blew up. There was a large smoke plume, and the fire blew across multiple drainages on the eastern face of the mountains.

The Kanes have a history of running cattle in the Big Horn Mountains. Even before the government established the Bighorn National Forest in 1897, Kane’s great grandfather used the mountain pastures for summer grazing.

Kane explained that cows were located an area called Freeze Out Point that was looking like it might have fire. Before Highway 14 closed to traffic, the Kanes drove back up the mountain to move their cows.

“The face of the mountain was on fire, so we moved the cattle back to the Hay Creek Pasture. When the fire started, the Padlock Ranch had probably 600 yearlings in the area, so they had trailed them to a holding trap near Freeze Out. Sunday night the trail to Freeze Out was on fire, and the Forest Service wouldn’t let Padlock go in to get their cattle. We ended up going in any way to move our cows and let the Padlock’s yearlings out of the trap and left the gates open so they could scatter.”

Tuesday, October 1, although the fire made another run, the Kane’s felt their cows were still safe location. The family kept a close eye on the fire and were in touch with other permittees and Forest Service personnel. They moved cows again to a safer location Thursday, but after another cold front blasted through Friday night, it was time to come home.

The Watch Duty (a popular fire-tracking app) map showed half of the pasture the cows were in had burned.

“I was nervous going up there Saturday because we did not know where the fire was exactly and we didn’t know which way we were going to go, trailing down the highway and or using the trucks. We talked to a hot shot crew, and they believed we could make it to that pasture. Our plan was to trail them over the highway and get cattle trucks in,” said Kane. However, when they arrived, they realized not as much had burned as originally thought, so they opted to trail the cattle out via the face of the mountain. The cattle trail home every autumn on the same trail, so easily walked off the mountain.

“We certainly appreciate everyone who were on standby to use their cattle trucks,” Kane reiterated. “We were never in any danger. There were not any giant blazes in the trees or falling timber. The Padlock’s cowboys rounded up their yearlings, and we came off the mountain together. A special shout out to the Forest Service’s Cordell Perkins who facilitated our trips in and out of those mountains.”

Although the Kane family annually trails their livestock through the small town of Dayton every year heading home, this year seemed special to the residents. The town had been in SET mode, preparing to evacuate for days. Nate estimates the distance from the mountain lease to the home ranch at 20 miles and takes three days.

“Saturday, October 5, was an exceptionally long day. We got them trailed all the way home Monday, October 7. So far, we have not seen any respiratory problems. We went through a lot of ash dust, though, and that’s not good for their lungs. We will keep a close eye on them.”

“I don’t know who is happier to be back home, us or the cows,” Nate added.

The family has launched into their usual fall work of preconditioning and pregnancy testing and will wait to consider what the future holds for grazing in the forest.

“We have five pastures leased in the Bighorns; three have burned and the fourth one is currently on fire. The fifth one is the smallest. We expect a deferment, but don’t know for how long. We will try making plans in November or December.”

Taking a positive spin on the situation, Nate added, “I believe the grass that will grow in the mountains will be phenomenal not only for the livestock, but for the wildlife.”

The X-X ranch near Parkman, Wyoming, is private land that lies in the foothills of the Big Horn Mountains against the elk winter range. A wet 2023 followed by a wet spring in 2024 and then a hot, dry summer caused the perfect storm of abundant dry grass and incredibly dry forest conditions. Add a strong wind and lightning, and the recipe for disaster was set.

“We lost about a third of the ranch to the fire, it pretty much torched that whole area,” said X-X Ranch Manager David Hannahs. “We saw two different runs out of the timber, and we fought it on the grass as best we could. There were times when the wind and temperatures were too intense and there wasn’t much you could do until you hit a road or very large fire break.”

The ranch custom grazes yearlings, which fortunately had been shipped before the fire. What remains for grazing next year will need to be assessed. Since they lost a large portion for grazing, that portion will need to rest and the ranch manager will see how it grows back.

“Unfortunately, in the foothills the greatest problem is going to be erosion if we get heavy moisture,” Hannahs said, adding, “Probably the best thing that could happen now is a heavy snow dump to get pressure to force the moisture into the ground rather than having it hit and rolling off.”

In addition, the ranch lost 3500 acres of fencing. Although the pipe and steel post fence survived, the older wooden posts and braces will need to be rebuilt.

“We’ll be assessing that and seeing how much we can afford to bite off this early fall or early spring,” the ranch manager said.

Large herds of elk come down from the mountains into the foothills this time of year and the fire had them streaming down.  The X-X has an outfitter who holds elk hunts; it remains to be seen where the elk will settle since their usual habitat has burned.

“If they stay on the north end, we may be able to have some hunters later in October,” Hannahs noted.

Although the fire continues to sweep down the mountains, Hannahs said it was rewarding seeing people helping each other. “

“When that fire started, we had five to six neighbors who all had pump tanks on their pickups. Thanks to their huge effort, our buildings are safe, and we put out fire from affecting other parts of the ranch. Neighbors helping neighbors has been going on all summer long in this area of our country.”

At press time, the Elk Fire, started September 27 by lightning, had consumed more than 79,000 acres with 929 personnel and was only 14 percent contained.

North Dakota

A fire in northwestern, North Dakota, near Ray, claimed the lives of two people.

Two fires affected the area, according to a Williams County news release. The County Commission declared a state of emergency Oct. 8, 2024.

“Estimates from satellite imagery and Civil Air Patrol flight observations show that approximately 88,934 acres burned across central and eastern Williams County between Saturday, October 5 and Sunday, October 6. An investigation into the start of the fires is ongoing,” said the news release. The fire is contained.

Johannes Nicolaas Van Eeden (known as Nicolaas) lost his life.

Van Eeden, a South African, was working for Brittany and Ryan Wolla family.

The couple looked for Nicolaas in the fire but was unable to find him. They were later alerted by the police that he died.

Nicolaas’s wife Anke lives in South Africa and is expecting their first child.

Brittany Wolla said the fire burned most of their pasture. They lost a few head of cattle in the fire, but most were miraculously spared.

“We loaded up and headed to he pasture. We had a hard time navigating to get around. We got to the yard where our cattle come in to water and we could see them in the yard, and the fire hit the trees. We flung open the gate for the cows, hoped for the best, and left,” she said.

“I don’t know how they made it out, I’m amazed,” she said.

The couple then went to check on a bigger bunch of cattle in a neighboring pasture. By the time they arrived there, firemen were blocking the road, but they traveled past them try to save their cattle. They cut fence and tried to push the cattle through the hole, but since the cattle weren’t used to going out of the pasture in that location, they wouldn’t leave.

So the couple changed their strategy.

“A fire truck drove out, put out a long line of water and we ran the cattle back into the ash,” she said. Most of the cattle survived and are doing well.

Brittany said the outpouring from the community has been overwhelming.

“I’m really impressed with the community. The support they’ve given us is huge.”

“My husband’s cousins heard about what happened, they drove all night, and were here by 5 am with pickups and trailers to help us move cattle home.

“We experienced a horrible tragedy, but to see our community step up, it’s heartwarming,” said Wolla.

Tanya Hill, who live between Ray and Tioga, said the fire came very near her family’s home, shop, barn and other buildings.

An earth systems company happened to be on the place, digging dirt to make top soil, and the excavator operator helped make a berm that ultimately turned the fire and saved their home.

“They were in the right place at the right time,” she said.

The Hills normally sell quite a bit of hay, and some of their hay that was sold and waiting to be shipped is now a pile of ash.

Friends have donated hay to feed the Hills’ roping cattle and horses.

“Our community is amazing. I had friends who didn’t even call, they just dopped hay at our house,” she said.

Pipe, steel posts, wire and more for fencing has also been donated.

Tanya knew both men who died in the fire. In addition to Nicolaas, a neighbor, Ed Coppersmith of Tioga also lost his life.

The fires

The two largest fires each covered swaths of land approximately 20 miles in length, with the first burning from 12 miles north of the intersection of Highway 85 and Highway 2 (13 Mile Corner) southeast, just past the western extent of Ray. The second main fire began northwest of Ray and burned southeast, ending just south of Tioga. Both fires crossed extensive portions of Highway 2 as the area experienced sustained winds of 40 mph and gusts up to 73 mph. The majority of fires were contained by 3 am on Sunday, October 6. Hotspots and smaller fires continued to burn through Sunday, October 6 into Monday, October 7. Any new fire activity should be immediately reported to 9-1-1.From mid-morning October 5 through Sunday, October 6, the Williams County Dispatch Center fielded a total of 636 calls for service, of which 182 were 9-1-1 emergencies and 454 were administrative. Incident Command from the Williams County Emergency Operation Center coordinated response efforts across more than 30 agencies from North Dakota and Montana. The majority of first responders were from volunteer-based agencies.

Williams County first responders included those from the Ray Fire Department, Ray Ambulance, Epping Fire Department, Alamo Fire Department, Grenora Fire Department, Tioga Rural Fire, Tioga Fire and Ambulance, Trenton Fire Department, Wildrose Fire Department, Williston Rural Fire, Williston Fire & EMS, ND Highway Patrol, Ray Police Department, Tioga Police Department, Williams County Sheriff’s Office, Williams County Dispatch Center, and Williams County/Williston Emergency Management.

Additional North Dakota agencies include Bowbells Fire Department, Burlington Fire Department, Columbus Fire Department, Crosby Fire Department, Kenmare Fire Department, Lignite Fire Department, Noonan Fire Department, Stanley Fire Department, Portal International Fire Department, Watford City Fire Department. Additional EMS units from the surrounding area provided patient transport as needed.

Responding agencies from Montana included Bainville Fire Department, Culbertson Fire Department, Froid Fire Department, Medicine Lake Fire Department, Plentywood Fire Department, and Westby Fire Department.

Local residents, the Williams County Highway Department, and the North Dakota Department of Transportation assisted with cutting fire lines in pastures and other open ground. Private industry was also critical to the response as entities contributed supplies, food, and most importantly, fire-fighting water.

Eight injuries were reported, resulting in two fatalities over the course of the two-day fire event period. There has been extensive damage to electrical infrastructure and significant loss to property. Williams County residents can also contribute to assessment efforts by reporting any livestock or structural damage or loss via the Williams County website: https://www.williamsnd.com/contact-emergency-management/. These reports will contribute to disaster reporting and help with updating property records.

Williams County/Williston Emergency Management would like to thank all first responders, community volunteers, hospital personnel, and the private industry entities that contributed to the fire response. A thank you is also extended to Mountrail-Williams Electric Cooperative.

An event of this magnitude can be overwhelming and difficult to cope with. Any individual who made need emotional support or someone to talk during this time to are encouraged to call or text 9-8-8. Those who may have lost personal belongings, livestock, or property and/or need assistance of any kind can find a list of wildfire recovery resources compiled by ND Response at https://ndresponse.gov/wildfire-recovery. As our community heals, please continue to check on your neighbors and loved ones.