California's National Guard tossed hay out of helicopters to feed starving cows trapped in the snow

• California's National Guard tossed bundles of hay off of helicopters to feed cows trapped in the snow.
• The extreme weather prevented ranchers from reaching their cattle.

With dangerous snowfall and extreme weather battering California, authorities found an unusual way to help cattle ranchers feed their hungry cows: They're dropping bundles of hay from helicopters.

California's National Guard started "Operation Hay Drop" last week, coordinating with Humboldt County Sheriff's Office and other local authorities to deliver hay to cows stranded in snowy remote areas.

In a video, the Sheriff's Office said the efforts began when about 30 ranchers in southern Humboldt reached out with concerns about their stranded cows.

"We've had some unprecedented weather over the last two weeks and we've received multiple reports of cattle dying off because ranchers cannot get to their cows due to impassable roadways," Humboldt County Sheriff William Honsal said. "These cattle are an economic driver, they're starving and they're calving right now. So all those things necessitate some drastic measures."

Public officials were reminded of similar situations in the 1980s, when ranchers requested help getting hay to their cattle after a series of heavy snowfall.

Using similar methods, the Sheriff's office coordinated efforts with the ranchers, CAL FIRE, the California National Guard, and the US Coast Guard to locate the cows, fly helicopters over the ranches, and drop bundles of hay for the snow-bound bovines to eat.

A video tweeted by The California National Guard shows "Operation Hay Drop" in action.

"This is an atypical type of operation but it shows the resilience and effectiveness of cooperating with various agencies so in total we can better serve the communities that are affected," said Chief Kurt McCray of the CALFIRE Humboldt-Del Norte Unit. "We are glad to help."