British Columbia has formally asked Ottawa for emergency disaster funding to help the province’s cattle ranchers cope with ongoing wildfires.

B.C. Agriculture Minister Lara Popham made the request for AgriRecovery help during a meeting with federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay in British Columbia Tuesday afternoon. The request formally triggers a joint assessment by the federal and provincial agriculture departments to determine the scope of the disaster and level of financial help needed. Details of the assessment timeline are still being worked out.

“The AgriRecovery response will help B.C. ranchers and farmers recover from their losses, and return to their land and their livelihoods,” Popham said in a joint release Wednesday morning. “Our governments are working with producers, local officials and stakeholders, and the results and spirit of resilience is collective and clear. We will work together to respond to this emergency until the job is done.”

AgriRecovery is a joint federal/provincial risk management program designed to help farmers recover from the extraordinary costs of natural disasters. The program is triggered at the provincial level, with the province covering 40 per cent of the cost and the federal government covering the rest.

“Our Government stands with producers in British Columbia who are facing challenges and hardships because of these wildfires,” MacAulay said in a statement. “Together, with our provincial counterparts, we will work closely with affected producers to assess the full scope of their needs and help them get back in business as quickly as possible.”

On July 8, British Columbia declared a state of emergency because of the wildfires, many of which are burning in the heart of cattle country. The declaration remains in effect. The B.C. Cattlemen’s Association has estimated a third of its 1200 members and some 30,000 head of cattle have been directly affected by the fires.

The full scope of the fire damage is hard to estimate, said B.C. Cattlemen’s Association General Manager Kevin Boon. The fires are still burning and many ranchers can’t get to their herds. Many of the animals are staying ahead of the flames but Boon said the fires are making them impossible to get to, even on horseback.

Informal discussions between Ottawa and Victoria about possible AgriRecovery help for the cattle industry have been going on since last week.

Feed and veterinarian services are key needs for ranchers right now, Boon said. The fires have burnt more than a million acres of rangeland so far — grass that ranchers rely on to feed their livestock through the spring and summer. Those on the ground say some ranchers likely will have to haul in water given the dry conditions. Boon said he expects some government funding will be required to cover lost infrastructure not covered by insurance, like corrals.

Tuesday’s AgriRecovery ask is the second request Ottawa has received in less than a year for emergency funding for the cattle sector because of unforeseen disasters.

In November 2016, the Alberta government formally requested AgriRecovery money for its ranchers after an outbreak of bovine tuberculosis put tens of thousands of animals under mandatory, federally imposed quarantines. Ottawa later announced an aid package of up to $16.7 million.

MacAulay told MPs at the time the money would be used to help cover such expenses as “feeding and water infrastructure, feed for the animals, transportation, cleaning and disinfection as well as interest costs on loans due to the circumstance.”