Eau Claire, PA — A trucking company from Butler County is getting national attention for delivering hay thousands of miles away to ranchers in Montana affected by drought and wildfires.
“These ranches have been in these families for years, and it’s their livelihood,” Perry Altmire Jr. told the Billings Gazette.
Altmire lives in Eau Claire, PA, a small town in Butler County, and spearheaded the “PA for Montana” effort to coordinate and deliver hay donations to the region.
His trucking company delivered five truckloads of hay over 1,600 miles to Miles City, Montana.
Altmire’s delivery joins more than 30 other truckloads of donations delivered this month in Eastern Montana. The region continues to deal with the impact of a historically severe drought and a summer filled with relentless wildfires.
Facebook posts about Altmire’s efforts began catching the attention of users from all over and even more donations came pouring in.
“By Wednesday morning we had over 10,000 views and it just kind of took off,” Altmire said. “People just started donating anything, from monetary donations to loads of hay.”
For more information about the PA for Montana Fire Victims nonprofit group or to donate, call Altmire at (724) 791-2200.
