In the line of fire

KANOSH, Millard County — One week after flames rushed toward his cattle, grazing outside of Sulphurdale, Beaver County, Lee Yardley hasn't precisely counted the head of cattle he lost in Utah's huge Milford Flat fire or determined how many acres of unburned land are left for the survivors to graze on before he has to purchase hay. But he is certain the next three to four years are going to be tough.

"I'm a little stressed; but hell, I'm always stressed," Yardley said Saturday. "So it doesn't matter. It's part of the game. You take them, you lose them as they come." But the ranching challenges "have never been this big."

As firefighting crews aim for 100 percent containment of the fire — which has blackened 363,052 acres — residents and workers in Millard and Beaver counties are reflecting upon the impact of the massive fire — and moving ahead.

Lee Yardley, 38

Farmer-rancher

BEAVER — On July 7, Lee Yardley loaded a horse into his trailer and sped from his home in Beaver to a Bureau of Land Management grazing area outside Sulphurdale, prompted by a frantic phone call from his brother, who was worried about the fate of 225 head of cattle they jointly own that were grazing there. About 100 head of cattle were removed from the area, with the help of Yardley's and other ranchers' horses.

Then the horses began screaming.

"It seemed like everyone was moving," Yardley said. "The birds were getting out of there."

Yardley drove to the top of a nearby ridge to check on the fire. Flames were so close that Yardley raced back to the cattle. The fire won.

"I'd say we probably lost 15-20 head of cattle so far," Yardley said. "It's hard to tell. We're talking mother cows, so we're talking $1,300, $1,400 apiece."

Instead of counting the dead and finding cows that are missing, Yardley is focusing for now on the burned hooves of living cows. He's trying to treat them before infection sets in and he'd have to put the animals down.

Yardley grows alfalfa on his Beaver property in the summertime. During the winter, his cattle graze on it. But with so much grazing land burned, he may have to buy hay until grass returns.

"It's too costly to feed them," he said. "Hay's going approximately $140 a ton. That's a lot for beef cows."

His cattle eat about 3 tons a day.

Sister Lois Harvey, 74