On Jan. 15 — a day after the Windy Fire consumed more than 2,000 acres of owned and leased winter and spring pastureland, and 1,500 round bales on the Ham Ranch in South Dakota — friends, neighbors and even strangers began showing up ready to fence.

“They came for a week straight. A bunch of guys showed up without asking to help fence. Some of my friends said, ‘We wouldn’t tell you we were coming because you would have told us to stay home.’ You know, they are right,’” says Brady Ham, a fourth-generation Shadehill rancher.

In addition to helping replace fence destroyed in the fire, many donated hay. “It is humbling because hay in this country is a commodity that a guy doesn’t want to let go of. One young man hauled a load in from as far away as Brookings, [S.D.],” Ham says. “I felt pretty helpless in that fire, and it is pretty humbling when people help out. It was quite the experience. I would not want to do it again, but I sure learned how generous and gracious people are.”

Lemmon, S.D., rancher Joe Zorc agreed with Ham. “We are the kind of people that don’t really want help. But when help comes, it sure is nice,” says Zorc, as he recalls the donated loads of hay, fencing supplies from Lindskov Implement and a crew from Boldt Power who showed up to dig in corner posts after the Windy Fire destroyed 1,800 acres of his summer pasture.

“When they first came, we told them we didn’t need their help; we could do it ourselves. They said, “We are here. We will not take “no” for an answer. Show us where to start,” says Zorc, who ranches with his wife, Kathy, and son, Preston.

Kathy says the generosity could not have come at a better time. “They brought a meal out for us. I wanted to say, ‘We didn’t need it. We will be OK.’ But when life is overwhelming, it is nice to have a hot meal. Thank God for good friends. We are blessed in many ways — let me tell you.”

The Zorc and Ham ranch families were among many of the Perkins County, S.D., cow-calf producers to lose pastureland and cattle to the Jan. 14 Windy Fire.

Propelled by gusts of 60 to 90 mph, the prairie fire burned across 21 miles of Adams County, N.D., and Perkins County, S.D.

Winter fires

“It is amazing no houses or lives were lost,” Lemmon Fire Chief Chad Baumgarten says.

Serving on the Lemmon Volunteer Fire Department for nearly 30 years, Baumgarten says he and the crew see about 20 grass fires a year. Most are during the summer and are started by haying equipment or lightening. The Windy Fire, he says, was unlike any fire they have seen in their area for several reasons.

“We have had winter fires before, but most of the time there’s snow on the ground to help stop it. This fire was different,” Baumgarten says. “There wasn’t any snow, and because it was January, all the grasses are dead, brown, and it was extremely windy.”

It took volunteer fire departments from Lemmon, Grand River and several small communities from as far as 100 miles away to contain the fire, which eventually was controlled on the banks of Grand River and Dogtooth Creek. In all, 26 fire departments helped fight the fire, caused by an unknown source.

Fighting a fire like this one was personal for many firefighters, most of whom are volunteers like Baumgarten. They ranch full time. And the rangeland they were fighting flames on could just as easily be their own grassland they depend upon to feed their cattle. The cattle they worked to move to safety that smoky night could just as easily been carrying their brand.

The fire hit Perkins County around 4:30 p.m. and raged through the night. After the fire was over, family and neighbors who had been fighting the blaze throughout the night stuck around as Ham assessed the damage.

The fire ran through a pasture of bred heifers, and a dozen had to be put down. Ham thought for sure the fire had also gotten to a large group of fall-calving cows and calves. “It burned right through their pasture, but they got into the creek and trees, and none of them were hurt. My cousin and his dad checked on them after the fire and called to tell me they were all right.”

After the fire was contained, some of the volunteer firefighters stuck around to help Ham clean the area.

How to help

Even though Dave Reis ranches more than 260 miles from Perkins County, the Lyman County rancher is donating a load of hay to help. “It’s just natural, isn’t it? I could see myself in their situation very easily. A prairie fire comes running through your land and wipes you out. I just wanted to do something to help.”

He donated his load of hay through South Dakota Farmers Union website. The state’s largest family farm and ranch organization is one of the groups working to connect those impacted by the Windy Fire with resources to help. To learn about how you can help, visit sdfu.org.

Roti writes from Sioux Falls, S.D., for the South Dakota Farmers Union.