PUEBLO - Tim Erickson lost 10 cattle during the late December blizzard that devastated so many farmers and ranchers in southern Colorado. He considers himself one of the lucky ones.

Unlike some of his neighbors, the fourth-generation farmer was able to get to most of his cattle within days of the first storm that hit before Christmas.

For those harder hit, country music singer Michael Martin Murphey is determined to get some help.

Murphey and several other well-known country music acts gathered for Operation Blizzard Benefit, a concert Sunday night to raise money for Colorado's ranchers and farmers who suffered losses from the storms.

By mid-afternoon Sunday, more than $650,000 had been raised from private and corporate donations and dinner and concert ticket sales.

Many ranchers were at the mercy of Mother Nature when the storms blew through.

"The water troughs were frozen about 12 inches," Erickson said, indicating the depth with his hands. "It was covered in snow; you couldn't even tell it was there."

An estimated 10,000 cattle died as a result of the blizzards, said John Stulp, state agriculture commissioner. About $50 million to $100 million in losses have been calculated, he said, though the true total loss will never be known.

"The blizzard exceeded what we've seen in the last 60 to 100 years," Stulp said. "It really overwhelmed the ranchers."

It will take about five or six years of good weather and good crops to recover from the devastation, he said.

Gov. Bill Ritter gave a short speech before the concert began and proclaimed it "Michael Martin Murphey Day" in Colorado.

"The thing that makes this country special is that when other people are down, we have to lift them up," Ritter said.

Rancher Douglas Taylor raises about 125 cows on his ranch 15 miles west of Trinidad, and he too, was able to get to them quickly.

A natural gas company was drilling on his land when the storms hit. Their machinery helped him reach his animals.

"I was able to feed the cattle the next day," said the 58-year- old who has ranched on the same spread his entire life. "But some of my friends went weeks before they were able to feed theirs."

About 100 inches of snow fell near Trinidad, Taylor estimated, and some of the northern slopes on his ranch are still covered with solid ice.

"This is wonderful, I just can't believe it," Taylor said of the benefit concert and the amount of money raised. "This is bigger than I ever dreamed of, and it's going to help a lot of people."

prietob@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5219