Pole Creek Fire north of US-6 and above Diamond Fork. Credit: Craig Thompson
PAYSON —
Utah cowboys are saddling up to save their neighbors’ livelihoods from wildfire season.
More than 1,100 cattle are being threatened by the Bald Mountain and Pole Creek fires, which have been encroaching on grazing areas since the fires started on Sept. 10.
So when Lieutenant Governor Spencer Cox reached out to twitter for help evacuating the stranded cattle from the Diamond Fork area, Utah responded.
Cox was overwhelmed by support from local ranchers, who volunteered in massive numbers. Cox later had to delete his tweet to avoid overrunning the endangered area with too many volunteers.
According to Chason Hortin of the Spanish Fork Grazing Company, the cattle are spread over about 20 miles in the Diamond Fork area, and are difficult to reach due to fires on either side. More than 30 Utah cowboys are assisting in corralling cattle and leading them down the canyon.
Cox’s twitter account includes praise for Utah’s community-driven response to the fires, including this quote from a crew of Las Vegas firefighters: “we’ve fought fires all over the west, and this community here, is the best we’ve ever seen.”
“We got to try and find every single cow up there,” said Payson resident Steve Money. “It’s the cowboy way.”