Southeast Oregon ranchers are set to receive state funds as they recover from last summer’s massive wildfires.

The Oregon Cattlemen’s Association is now taking applications for repair reimbursements from ranchers in Harney and Malheur counties, said Curtis Martin, president of the statewide group representing the cattle industry.

“The majority of it is going to be toward fence rebuilding,” he said.

The association is distributing $100,000 in all, $30,000 of which is expected to go to the Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Station to help pay for the ongoing study of rangeland management and wildfire, Martin said. That leaves $70,000 available for ranchers, who must apply for a share by the end of the month.

Lightning-caused wildfires charred more than 1.3 million acres in Southeast Oregon last summer. The Long Draw Fire alone blackened nearly 872 square miles – or about 558,000 acres – in Malheur County between July 8, 2012, and July 15, 2012. The fire was the largest in total size to burn in the state in the past century.

The wildfires were mostly on public land, Martin said, including rangeland leased by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to ranchers. While the fires didn’t burn timber or homes, they did destroy summer feed for cattle and fences separating pastures.

Martin said he expects 50 or more ranchers to apply for reimbursements for already-completed fence mending and other repairs.

“It is open to about anybody who had cattle and suffered losses from the wildfires,” he said.

Last year the Oregon Department of Agriculture asked the State Emergency Board for $50,000 to help the ranchers, said Bruce Pokarney, spokesman for the department. The board approved the request in September, and in May Gov. John Kitzhaber added another $50,000 from the state’s strategic reserve fund.

The Oregon Cattlemen’s Association was already working with Southeast Oregon ranchers recovering from the wildfires, so the department turned to the group to pass out the funds.

“They had a system already set up,” Pokarney said.

Wildfire funds

The Oregon Cattlemen’s Association has $70,000 in state funds to distribute to Southeast Oregon ranchers affected by wildfires last summer. The application is available online at orcattle.com/news/current-issues/restore. Applications must be postmarked by July 31. For more information call 503-361-8941 or email oca@orcattle.com.