The cows have come home, Livestock moved to safety from Elk Fire

SR Cattle Company cowboys push the tail end of the herd past Dayton Mercantile onto SHERIDAN — The chilly morning made it feel like fall, but the smoke was thick over Dayton, making it difficult to stand outside for very long. Bystanders prepared for the cattle to come through as some stood with their phones at the ready and others created a boundary around their businesses with hay string.

The cows could be heard before they were seen. Soon, the black angus cattle came pouring over the Tongue River bridge, kicking up dust and bellowing as they trotted down North Main Street. Before long, cow poop covered much of the street and permeated the air.

The cows looked tired and rattled from their long journey with snot and slobber dripping from their nose and mouth.

Trekking through town didn’t help the cows’ nerves as they looked to be on alert and searching for their calves that got separated along the trip. The cowboys looked tired but excited knowing their cattle were headed to safety.

The cowboys pushing the cattle along did so at an easy pace and with a calm demeanor, as they realized the hard part of the drive was behind them.

The Elk Fire has caused chaos for local ranchers and livestock owners who reside near the Bighorn Mountains.

SR Cattle Company trailed its cows and calves off the mountain on Monday. It was one of the many cattle operations that had to move their livestock off the mountain over the weekend. One of SR Cattle Company’s owners, Terri Kane, said it has been a long process.

“When this fire started, we needed to get our cows down last Monday. Last Thursday, we actually had to move them away from the fire towards Burgess Junction,” Kane said.

With unseasonably warm weather and unprecedented wind conditions last week, livestock owners were scrambling to find safe feeding ground for their cattle.

Some ranchers with livestock on the mountain decided to haul their cattle off the mountain with semis. However, SR decided to trail them off, Kane said.

“We didn’t know if we were going to truck them off or trail them off Saturday morning. My husband (David Kane) went up there and he decided, after talking to the fire people, that there was a clear path to Freeze Out (Point),” Kane said.

The SR Cattle Company trailed its cows all the way from Hay Creek to the top of the stock drive that comes down Smith Creek. The drive was more than 20 miles long, Kane said.

As the cows made their way through Dayton and on their way to safety, spirits began to rise for the SR Cattle Company staff.

Kane said there are a couple of different places for SR ranch hands to take the cattle. For now, they are taking them down Dayton East Road until it dead ends on Wolf Creek Road.

The herd brought down the mountain on Monday consisted of 450 cow/calf pairs, making the total around 900, Kane said.

Once they get the herd to their destination, normal chores and operations will resume.

“We’ll process them and preg(nancy) test like we usually do. We’ll be shipping our steer calves at the end of the month and so we hope we’re not short a whole bunch,” Kane said.

As of Tuesday morning, the Elk Fire has burned through 74,685 acres and is 10% contained.

This story was published on October 8, 2024.