The 2021 fire season is upon us. The Batterman Rd fire in Douglas County, is one of four fires currently burning in Washington State as of (7/8/21). It has burned over 14,000 acres which is made up mostly of pasture, range and wheat/fallow operations. The following Timely Topic will address what one should consider if they are impacted by wildfire or any fire for that matter.
The first order of business is to document the damage (i.e., pictures of crop or livestock losses, burned fence, receipts of repair work, etc.). This information is going to be needed to apply for any of the various Farm Service Agency programs below that can assist with loss caused by fire.
- Emergency Conservation Program (ECP).
- Emergency Haying and Grazing.
- Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP).
- Emergency Loan Program (EM).
- Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP).
- Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP).
- Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP).
Please contact your local FSA office for any enquiries into these programs.
Also, weeds like to come in after a fire. Please check out the WSU Wheat and Small Grains Weed Resources page for information on combating these un-wanted plants.
Figure 1. Burned Wheat
Figure 2. Range and fence loss