FIRES! Safe, So Far, But Surrounded

UPDATES - BELOW

Volunteer horse people with their horse trailers
have been driving into the canyons searching on ranches
and in pasture for horses needing to be rescued.

The frustration has been with the owners that will not leave
their homes and the horse trailers are turned away.

Now, those areas are under severe risk,
and the horse trailers are returning
in the hopes to get in to rescue their horses.

The fires are covering Los Angeles to San Diego.

At the moment, the race tracks, fair grounds
and nearly all equestrian centers are filled
to capacity with rescued horses
with more truck loads of horses on the way.

We are all working together to locate private equestrian
residences with empty stalls or barns.

At our farm, we have an empty foaling stall
and turn-out areas and have made those available.

We feel so fortunate to be safe.

UPDATE - WEDNESDAY

Yesterday, the horses were being gathered from horse ranches
and residences that were in the direct line of fire.
Most of those homes are gone now.

There were also horses in pasture in the fire areas
that were rounded up and taken to safety.

Today, we are on watch for other horse communities
that are now in line of fire.

And ...we are finally getting Federal help with more
airplane coverage to drop water on the raging fires.
(why did that take 3 days to get?)

That gives us hope that the fires will no longer
be burning out of control.
Also, the tremendous winds have calmed down.

Presently, we are all on stand-by, except for the
wonderful volunteers that are now caring for the rescued horses,
while their owners are trying to put their lives back together.

If anything good has come from this ... it is that we are
forming an Equine Emergency Central for our area
that will have information for all horse people.

However, we know that rounding up trailers and
going to the emergency sites ... just in case,
will still be the procedure.

Yesterday, people took their trucks to equestrian centers
and took trailers that were parked there.
That is how desperate the situation was.

In the future, we will also have lists of rescue sites
that will be prepared to take the horses,
so we don't have to go begging for places to put
the trailered horses in situations such as this.

Cheers to all the bold and brave people that
just grabbed halters and lead lines, jumped into
their trucks and took off to gather horses at risk.

We worked the telephones for places to put the horses.
Today, we hope the phones are quiet.

UPDATE FRIDAY

Happy to say that things are quieter, now.
We've had a great turnout of volunteers
to care for the rescued horses.

Owners are now coming to the hold-up locations
to care for and be with their horses
until they can return home.

Other horses will stay at the centers
until they have new barns built.

This entire ordeal has made us all aware
of how many wonderful horses
and horse people there are in this world.

It has also been amazing to see people
come forward that are not experienced with horses,
but have been willing to offer their help.
They have been great at keeping water buckets filled and
giving lots of attention to the horses.

This tragedy has brought many people together
that will remain friends.

There are countless stories to be told.

We all remain grateful for the amazing bravery
and dedication of the horse community,
who jumped into action in the middle of chaos
to save the lives of countless horses at risk.

~~~

This link is about our part of the rescue.
RESCUE

~~~~~

Horses Rescued ~ Scenes To Remember

The Aftermath - Horses Waiting For Owners

So many thanks for your comments!
It kept us going.
It's great to know how many people care!

We are all a community ...
no matter where we are located.