Cattle Ranchers Evaluate Loss of Livestock

By Colleen Chen, NEWS 9

STILLWATER, Oklahoma -- As homeowners continue to add up their losses from Thursday's wildfire, cattle ranchers have to do the same.

Todd Hayes, a ranch manager, is surveying the damage done by the blazes.

The hooves of animals got so hot, they began cracking. A fire in Payne County jumped Interstate 35 and quickly moved into David Wait's ranch, scorching close to 75 percent of his pastureland.

"There wasn't any place for the cattle to go," Wait said. "It was just a very dangerous situation."

Todd Hayes, the ranch manager for the Waits Ridgeview, did his best to save what he could, but the fire's speed was overwhelming.

"The worst thing was you just couldn't see a thing, the smoke was so bad," Hayes said. "By the time I found out where it was, it was too late."

Flames killed five and injured 20 of the livestock at Waits Ridgeview Ranch. The ranch workers will have to wait and evaluate the worth of the injured livestock.

"It's hard to tell they may have problems later down the road," Hayes said.

The damaged pasture means they'll pay at least $300 a week for hay since the cattle can't graze. The extra cost comes at a time when cattle prices aren't good.

"When cattle prices down, you try to cut back what you can to make do," Hayes said.

The Waits family said they're lucky. The ranch isn't their main source of income and the damage could've been worse.

For many ranchers, their ranch is their livelihood.

Agriculture officials said Thursday's fire burned more than 100,000 acres of pastureland statewide.

Ranchers said it will take at least a month for their pastures to recover from the burn.

Meanwhile, wheat producers are still adding up the damage from the recent freeze the state saw. The Wheat Commission plans to have an update by Friday.