Eastern Oregon is home to most of the state’s cattle. It is also the location of six of the state’s largest wildfires. The lightening-sparked Durkee Fire has grown to over 228,000 acres as of Monday. It merged with the Cow Vally Fire to cover 422,000 acres.

The Oregon Cattlemen’s Association and Oregon State University Extension are coordinating response efforts to help farmers, ranchers and the community. The Oregon Cattlemen’s Association seeks locations unaffected by the fires to put displaced cattle. This includes federal Conservation Reserve Program ground, U.S. Bureau of Land Management grazing allotments and private pastures. The Oregon State University Extension is helping distribute N95 masks to communities impacted by the wildfires. It also partners with state and local efforts to coordinate hay, livestock feed and monetary donations.

President of the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association Board Matt McElligott said it was too early to predict how many cattle were lost. Cattle losses in the thousands are possible due to the fast-moving fires over rangeland.

Read more about the Oregon wildfires here.