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Ranchers find death, devastation in Bootleg Fire's wake

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In the early hours of Wednesday morning, Michael and Katie Mastagni were saddling up for another long day of tracking down their cattle over landscape scorched by the Bootleg Fire.

As the blaze approached, most ranchers with grazing allotments on the Fremont-Winema National Forest — including the Mastagnis of Five Mile Ranch — decided to release their livestock from their pastures and pens, with the hope that they could find safety from the inferno.

Searching for cattle
Janice Roberts

Janice Roberts-Griffin stands on her property northwest of Bly surrounded by burnt equipment and vehicles.

Fire near Five Mile Ranch

The Bootleg Fire burns near Five Mile Ranch northeast of Beatty.

Five Mile Ranch morning

Michael Mastagni starts his day at Five Mile Ranch northeast of Beatty.

Scott Griffin

Scott Griffin, pictured above, and Janice Roberts-Griffin were forced to evacuate their property by the Bootleg Fire.

Three musketeers

Scott Griffin, Janice Roberts-Griffin, and Kevin Coggins.

National Guard

Three members of the National Guard, Johnta Sly, Eduardo Vasquez, and Bailey Tooze, patrol Ivory Pine Road and Forest Road 27.