Green Country Ranchers Hauling Hay to Texas Fire Victims This Weekend

Firefighters in the Texas panhandle are battling the state’s largest wildfire for a fourth straight day. The fires have already burned an area three times the size of Tulsa County.

The fires have been devastating for ranchers, who are now struggling to figure out how to feed their surviving cattle.

Some Green Country ranchers are helping victims in Texas and western Oklahoma, by hauling semis full of hay across the state this weekend.

The historic fires moving across the Texas panhandle and western Oklahoma, are hard for Casey Thomas to describe.

"Hell on Earth is about the only way,” Thomas said.

Thomas sees the devastation through his phone screen with posts from his friends.

"I lived out there for a little bit, so I met a lot of people,” he said.

But soon he will be on the ground, helping people whose stories he's been hearing about.

"The guy had 700 head of momma cows. He lost 700 head of momma cows. That's what he did for a living,” Thomas said.

Thomas is leading a convoy of semis and pickups, to haul as much hay as they can across the state on Sunday.

He said they'll also bring vet supplies to help cattle with medical needs.

So far, he has at least four semis and 10 pickup drivers committed to the trip.

"That's a lot of hay. And it's a long ways to go with a lot of hay."

If you don't have hay to give, Thomas said people can buy hay or feed from the farmer's co-op in Coweta.

"Yeah, even one bag's gonna make a difference more than you even know,” Farmers Coop of Coweta Manager Jon Harmon said.

Harmon said he would take orders over the phone. A bag of feed costs about $10.

Any donated money will go towards feed, milk replacers, or vet supplies, Harmon said on Facebook.

"We're willing to do 10 percent off to help a little bit of everybody,” he said.

"I'll pick it up and haul it with us,” Thomas said.

“Hell on Earth” might be the only way to describe it, but this is the only way they know how to help.

Thomas said if you want to go along, reach out to him on Facebook. They are leaving Sunday at 5 a.m. from downtown Coweta. There are plans to repeat this effort next weekend, too.

The Farmer’s Coop number is: (918) 486-5322.