Meet the ranchers who fight wildfires in Oregon’s remote rangelands

Meet the ranchers who fight wildfires in Oregon’s remote rangelands

Cattle rancher Matt Bixby hoists a water hose over his shoulder while Kurt Beaubien carries a drip torch and pretends to light a fire around an M-35 military cargo truck. It’s been retrofitted for firefighting, with a tank and a roaring diesel-powered water pump in the back.Bixby douses the pretend flames to keep them away from the fire engine. The idea is to burn any fuels around the truck — a practice for if or when these ranchers need to prot…