When resources run thin, volunteer ranchers fight local fires

+ Accessibility links Skip to main content Keyboard shortcuts for audio player Open Navigation Menu --> Newsletters NPR Shop Get NPR+ Close Navigation Menu Home News Expand/collapse submenu for News National World Politics Business Health Science Climate Race Culture Expand/collapse submenu for Culture Books Movies Television Pop Culture Food Art & Design Performing Arts Life Kit Gaming Music Expand/collapse submenu for Music Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions Podcasts & Shows Expand/collapse submenu for Podcasts & Shows Daily Morning Edition Weekend Edition Saturday Weekend Edition Sunday All Things Considered Up First Here & Now NPR Politics Podcast Featured Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Embedded Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop Get NPR+ Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics When resources run thin, volunteer ranchers fight local fires Rangeland Fire Protection Districts are volunteer groups made up of neighbors who protect their property and nearby land from wildfires, especially when federal and state resources are stretched thin. National When resources run thin, volunteer ranchers fight local fires June 29, 20264:58 PM ET Heard on All Things Considered From By Alejandro Figueroa When resources run thin, volunteer ranchers fight local fires Listen &middot; 4:25 4:25 Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed "> <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5814104/nx-s1-9829786" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript Rangeland Fire Protection Districts are volunteer groups made up of neighbors who protect their property and nearby land from wildfires, especially when federal and state resources are stretched thin. Sponsor Message SCOTT DETROW, HOST: Much of the western U.S. is bracing for what could be a bad wildfire season. When resources are thin, federal and state firefighters usually prioritize more populated areas, protecting lives and property. That does not always include cattle ranchers in vast remote areas that are mostly grassland. From member station Oregon Public Broadcasting, Alejandro Figueroa reports that volunteer ranchers are filling in the gaps.

+ ALEJANDRO FIGUEROA, BYLINE: In the middle of Oregon's sagebrush country, a dozen ranchers are refreshing their firefighting knowledge. They're standing around an old military cargo truck. It's got a water tank mounted in the back with a roaring diesel-powered pump. (SOUNDBITE OF DIESEL-POWERED PUMP) FIGUEROA: One person pretends to ignite a fire around the truck while Matt Bixby sprays it with water. MATT BIXBY: I saved it. I saved the truck. FIGUEROA: This is only practice for if, or when, they need to protect themselves from fire. Much of the West didn't get a lot of snow this winter. Combined with warmer temperatures and droughts, forecasters say the ingredients that could make a wildfire season worse are there. Bixby says he hopes it rains all summer. BIXBY: But we are definitely preparing that we will fight some fires if we have to. FIGUEROA: Bixby, like all the ranchers in this training, are part of their local Rangeland Fire Protection Association, or RFPA. They're similar to volunteer fire departments. KATIE WOLLSTEIN: The difference is the RFPAs do not respond to structure fires. FIGUEROA: That's Katie Wollstein. She's a rangeland fire specialist at Oregon State University. RFPAs receive training, radios and surplus fire engines from the Oregon Department of Forestry. In Oregon, like in other western states, the federal government manages vast tracts of land, and when a wildfire hits, federal agencies can't protect everything at once. Shane Theall is the unit fire chief for the U.S. Wildland Fire Service in Burns, Oregon. He says the top priorities are life, property and then natural resources. SHANE THEALL: If it were up to me, we would staff every fire equally. Every fire would be priority. But unfortunately, that's, you know, not the world we live in. FIGUEROA: That means on federal land, the grass cattle graze on may not get firefighting resources right away. And in Oregon, private land is protected by the state Department of Forestry or a rural fire district. But most of these remote rangelands aren't protected by either. That's where RFPAs come in. Oregon, along with Idaho and Nevada, are the only states with this model. Rangeland fire specialist Katie Wollstein says whether it can work in other states depends on many factors, including people. WOLLSTEIN: Some landowners, for instance, are more enthusiastic to interface with the government than others. And so the model does very much hinge on willingness to cross those, quote, "boundaries" and get along. FIGUEROA: That's because RFPAs sometimes work alongside federal firefighters. Fourth-generation rancher Mark McBride says that means they have to communicate. MARK MCBRIDE: We have an understanding, an agreement, and both sides follow it pretty well. So we're like one unit instead of two teams fighting across the line from each other. FIGUEROA: Sitting at a corner booth at a diner just a few miles west of the Idaho border, McBride, an RFPA member, says these groups are a natural fit for ranchers. MCBRIDE: It gives us the benefit of having mutual aid agreements. It gives us the benefit of getting better equipment, which makes us more available to help ourselves and our neighbors. FIGUEROA: That's the motto of RFPAs - neighbors helping neighbors. And McBride can think of a time in recent memory where his RFPA was instrumental in protecting a neighbor's property. MCBRIDE: And I said, go home. Get some rest. Get something to eat. Short of dying, I will save what I can at your ranch. FIGUEROA: After he was done, he got home to a voicemail from that neighbor. MCBRIDE: And it said, I knew you were my friend. I had no idea how good a friend you were. FIGUEROA: Many ranchers hope they're training for a fire they never have to fight, but at least they know what to do if one comes. For NPR News, I'm Alejandro Figueroa in Burns, Oregon. (SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Copyright &copy; 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. 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