Stanislaus County will issue passes for ranchers to evacuate cattle during wildfires
During the lightning-sparked fires in 2020, burning almost 400,000 acres in Stanislaus and five other counties, some ranchers ran into emergency services roadblocks as they tried to save their endangered cattle.
Stanislaus County is starting an Ag Livestock Pass program to register bona fide commercial livestock owners and give them access to their property during a disaster, so they can care for or evacuate their animals.
More counties have established a livestock pass system since Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1103 in fall 2021. The passes are expected to alleviate confusion at fire service roadblocks and help minimize livestock losses as wildfires plague California every year.
Assembly member Megan Dahle, a Republican who wrote the bill, has said a rancher lost hundreds of cattle in the North Complex Fire of 2020, in Plumas and Butte counties, after he couldn’t get access to his rangeland.
According to a bill analysis, many ranchers ignore emergency evacuation orders because they know leaving their property may cut them off from their livestock.
Stanislaus County’s agricultural commissioner’s office will review applications for the new pass program.
When the next wildfire happens, incident commanders may still deny access to livestock pass holders if there’s an immediate danger. But pass-card holders should be given access when there is no imminent risk, county officials said.
Ranchers also can be invaluable in helping firefighting personnel understand the lay of the land. Information collected from pass-card holders will go into a database and show first responders the location and access points to rangeland affected by a wildfire.
The pass cards also should help emergency service agencies to distinguish between true livestock owners and illegal trespassers.
County Supervisor Buck Condit, a retired fire captain, said emergency services roadblocks can be chaotic during a major incident. Multiple agencies including fire service personnel, California Highway Patrol, sheriff’s departments and other emergency services may share the responsibility of restricting public access to a fire zone.
“This is going to be a great program to alleviate that confusion,” Condit said before supervisors approved the pass system Tuesday.
The emergency access for owners is only for taking care of livestock by delivering feed, water or medical treatment or evacuation of animals.
Who is eligible for passes?
To be eligible, the ranch property must be within a “state responsibility area” in the foothills of western or eastern Stanislaus County.
Applicants have to meet criteria such as being an agricultural enterprise with at least 20 head of livestock, which may include offspring in utero. A beekeeper with at least 20 beehives and property used for agricultural research also qualifies.
Livestock owners or their managerial employees are required to complete four hours of Cal Fire training.
“It’s a very good idea that our ranchers and hired help do have access to the back country to move their cattle and protect them,” said Doug Murdock, a Patterson-area rancher.
Murdock said the SCU Complex fire in August 2020 touched the edges of his property in the hills west of Patterson, but by sheer luck he still had access to his corrals.
As long as the hazard isn’t too great, “it’s essential that we have access to our gates and be able to move cattle,” Murdock said.
This story was originally published November 30, 2022 at 6:38 AM.
