Drought and wildfires that laid waste to millions of acres were twin scourges of the West this past summer. The drought came first, leaving forests and rangelands tinder dry. Then came lightning strikes and careless acts by humans that resulted in devastating fires. By the time snow covered the high country, some 6.5 millions of acres of land had been blackened by hundreds of fires. Hardest hit was Bitterroot National Forest in Montana, where 370,000 acres, or roughly 25% of the forest, was burned, along with 32,000 acres of private lands, 70 residences, and 170 other structures.

In that area alone, approximately 15,000 firefighters joined forces with local residents to fight the blazes. Frequent high winds drove the fires at high speed, sending showers of cinders and sparks flying through the air to ignite even more fires in advance of the main blaze.

Two towns were seriously threatened, one in Montana and one in Wyoming. Residents of Red Lodge, Mont., were poised for evacuation when a fire that had been roaring toward the scenic and quaint town was brought under control. The same was true for Thermopolis, Wyo., where a series of fires rolled through the Owl Creek Mountains and threatened to burn down the town. Firefighters controlled the flames before that could occur.

The drought and fire had a direct impact on western ranchers. In some cases, the dry conditions resulted in sparse forage that forced ranchers to feed their winter’s supply of hay early. As a result, hay is in high demand and expensive in the West, and some ranchers are being forced to reduce herd size