Fire

Bitterrooters rally to donate hay to wildfire victims

Posted: Jul 11, 2012 9:26 PM by Shelby Fenster - MTN News

STEVENSVILLE - Alex Klein lives in Hamilton, but when his sister called from Colorado saying she couldn't find feed for her animals because of the wildfires, he knew he needed to help.

Klein is now payingd thousands of dollars out of his own pocket to help his sister and other fire victims he doesn't even know.

"She called me up, and she was very upset and said, 'We can't get hay. What are we going to do? We're gonna lose our animals." No, from Missoula to Idaho, it's all hay," Klein said. "So, it's just getting it from here to there."

Klein said the effort has snowballed thanks to more people coming forward and volunteering.

Klein said a network of people called each other to lend a helping hand.

Today, Klein and his crew sent the first of many truckloads, and hopes to send 200 tons of hay over the next several weeks.

"I couldn't have done it without those guys. All those hay producers that basically stepped up and said, 'What do you think you're going to need? Let's go find it,'" he said.

He hopes the families he's helping can rest easier. "We hope that we keep their livestock alive and that they can sleep at night," he said. "And if we've done that, we've done everything we set out to do."

The hay will be distributed to families in Fort Collins, Colorado Springs and other areas hard-hit by the disastrous wildfires.