Firefighters work to save cattle, honeybees from Park Fire

Cattle, bees and other livestock were and are threatened by the Park Fire as it advanced into Tehama County from its starting point in north Chico.

Ranchers in the Park Fire’s path got some help from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection firefighters early Thursday morning, when crews arrived to protect their livestock and equipment from the advancing fire.

But it has been a rough six years for agribusiness owners in Butte and Tehama counties, who fought to save their farms from two other major wildfires and numerous smaller fires.

“They went through Dixie. They went through Camp. Now they’re going through Park,” said Rory Crowley of Paradise, a commercial agribusiness loan officer with First Northern Bank.

While the valley is smokey, the former almond grower said he isn’t too worried about the Park Fire burning almond orchards and other valley farms along Highway 99. Maps from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection show the blaze would have to travel downhill from the foothills for that to happen.

Smoke settling in the valley can make harvesting difficult and unpleasant, but Crowley has watched farmers push through summer smoke before.

It’s the ranchers and honeybee keepers who are directly in the Park Fire’s path, Crowley said. “They’re on summer range, which is up in the mountains,” he said: Cattle and bees need water, so they summer at higher altitudes.

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Cal Fire crews built containment lines around Tehama County ranches on the west side of the fire at Meridian Road, near the Butte County line. They arrived at 2:30 a.m. on July 25, said Crowley — 12 hours after the Park Fire had started in Chico’s Bidwell Park.

Firefighters used dozers and created backfire to open a perimeter around cattle, farming equipment and as much as $200,000 worth of feed — and honeybees. The bees are summering safely near Pine Creek on land leased to their owner by one of the ranchers, Crowley reported.

While ranchers are living in areas under evacuation orders, they hesitate to leave their stock, he said: “Hopefully, in the next 24 hours, we’ll get the ‘all-clear’” from the Tehama County Sheriff’s Office.

Jessica Skropanic is a features reporter for the Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. She covers science, arts, social issues and news stories. Follow her on Twitter @RS_JSkropanic and on Facebook . Join Jessica in the Get Out! Nor Cal recreation Facebook group. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today. Thank you.

This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Firefighters work to save cattle, honeybees from Park Fire