VALE — The Oregon Cattlemen’s Association and the Bureau of Land Management’s Vale District are offering a reward of $8,000 for information leading to the identification of whoever started several fires in July in northern Malheur County, including the Cow Valley Fire which burned 133,000 acres.

A joint investigation by the BLM, Oregon State Fire Marshal, Malheur County Sheriff’s Office and Oregon State Police determined the Cow Valley, Bonita and other wildfires that started between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. on July 11 in the Malheur Reservoir area near Highway 26 were human-caused and “suspicious in nature,” according to a press release.

Anyone with information about any of the fires should call We Tip Anonymous at 1-800-47-ARSON, or online at wetip.com.

“The Cow Valley Fire destroyed houses, outbuildings, livestock, critical irrigation infrastructure, essential rangelands and endangered the lives and livelihoods of many farmers and ranchers,” said Matt McElligott, a Baker County rancher and president of the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association. “This year’s fires will go into the record book as the greatest amount of acres burned, the largest economic loss to those Oregonians impacted by these fires, and the largest economic cost to the state of Oregon.”