SiG
MT
55
BY DIANE EDWARDS
PHOTOGRAPHY BY CRAIG EDWARDS
Farmers, Ranchers, Volunteer
Firefighters Unite to Stop Losses
armers cuing near Big Sandy last harvest parked their
combines hours before sunset – not to rest the weary or
ease stressed machines but, at 103
o
and 7 percent humidity,
as well-worn caution against igniting tinder-dry fields.
Each new summer, memories of wildfires past – lightning-
caused or sickle-sparked – keep farmers and ranchers in
northcentral Montana on edge and fire ready.
F
Fire caused by faulty
wiring and last year's
extreme-low humidity
quickly spread to round
bins holding grain and
a large unoccupied
farmhouse, as overtaxed
firefighters protected
the farmer's more
valuable assets.
Fighting Fire,
Neighbor to Neighbor
Fighting Fire,
Neighbor to Neighbor
SiG
MT
55