W W W. D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA NA . C O M
57
The two most
important tenets
of dealing with
wildfire are to
help each other
and start early.
Burke's horse, Santa Fe
TAMAR
KASBERG
JAMES
MCDAVID
CAROLINE
MEIER
Cohesion is essential to ensure safety and prevent
property losses. Especially important when deal-
ing with livestock. Evacuating animals takes time;
and it takes even more time if you are in a hurry.
Animals know when you are amped with fear or excitement and
that is exactly when they become uncooperative.
New York Times bestselling author, James. Lee Burke, knows
and follows these tenets. At the first sign of the fire creeping out
of the wilderness and heading north, he called us to pick up his
three horses and take them to Dunrovin for safe keeping. He has a
lovely mountain ranch that is surrounded by forests and up a nar-
row gulch accessible by one road only. A fire would spell disaster.
James is a delightful gentleman in his eighties.
He is from the New Orleans area and clings to
the southern use of the term Miss. I loved being
called Miss SuzAnne as we worked together
to load his two geldings and one mare into my horse trailer. e
geldings were cooperative and stepped right in. But the sleek black
mare was much more cautious and less willing to be cajoled. James
was patient, deliberate, and devoted to caring for her. Yet he also
understood that were the circumstances different, had he waited
until this was a true emergency and we needed to hastily exit, he
would have had to leave her. Luckily, time was on her side and
with a couple of tricks, she got on board.
Dunrovin horse, Rocket
Canadian National Guard setting up tent
James Lee Burke
JOHN
ASHLEY
