CEDAR CITY, Utah — Ranchers in southern Utah are grappling with the devastating impact of wildfires and ongoing drought conditions that have damaged grazing lands and forced livestock relocations.
"We've always talked about drought — now, it's fire. I just felt like we had to get down there and find solutions," Utah Agriculture Commissioner Kelly Pearson said.
I recently attended a meeting in Cedar City where ranchers from the fire-affected areas of Pine Valley and Kane County gathered with agricultural officials from the Utah State Capitol to discuss the challenges they're facing.
"We're the fifth and sixth generation in our area that's been doing this," said Bob Ott, a Kane County farmer.
Ott's ranch initially seemed far from the France Canyon fire near Bryce Canyon, which has burned more than 33,000 acres.
"We're quite a ways north of French Canyon, actually. In fact, we thought we weren't even going to be impacted because it was so far away, and then the wind came up, took it, and it took it clear up and took out probably three-fourths of one of our pastures," Ott said.
WATCH: France Canyon Fire smoke not deterring Bryce Canyon tourists and workers
Like Ott, ranchers in rural Pine Valley to the west have had to deal with either the loss of grazing pasture or relocating their livestock in a rush during the evacuation from the Forsyth Fire.
Randy Marshall, the Utah Department of Agriculture's southwest grazing coordinator, can relate as he's a cow rancher himself in Iron County.
"You hope there's a light at the end of the tunnel. You just keep going. I mean, that's all you can do," Marshall said.
WATCH: Pine Valley residents return home after Forsyth Fire evacuations
Marshall noted that while a fire can be beneficial as it allows for the land to reseed and eventually recover, the same can't be said for drought conditions.
"I don't know if a drought's beneficial. Maybe to help you learn how to manage. That might be the only thing," Marshall said.
During the meeting, agriculture officials informed ranchers that help is coming in the form of monetary assistance and alternative grazing locations for displaced cattle. However, Ott mentioned another challenge facing farmers.
"The paperwork's getting to be worse than the fires," Ott said.
Despite these challenges, Ott remains optimistic after years of experience as a rancher.
"It's going to rain on us sometime. Yeah. I can't tell you when, but it's going to rain on us sometime. So we'll be all right," Ott said.
