Fire Threatens Arizona Equine Community

This is always a scary thing to hear in the equine community Over 250 horses have been moved in Arizona, which is bringing a big hault to any horse therapy or equine courses for a while. Lets hope this fire will die down and the community reamins unthreatened. 

"While firefighters struggle to contain the Monument wildfire in Arizona, the blaze is challenging members of the Arizona equine community who are caring for horses evacuated from the fire's path.

The Monument Fire broke out on June 12 in the Huachuca Mountains and scorched valley communities, including those in Cochise and Santa Cruz counties (located in the southeastern part of the state) forcing the evacuation of residents and their livestock. Bill Paxton, public information officer for the Northern Rockies Fire Incident Management Team, said since the blaze broke out, horses from several communities were evacuated to equine facilities including the Sierra Vista Riding Club, the Cochise County Fairgrounds, the Double Take Equestrian Center, and the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds.

"People with horse trailers were assembling in mall parking lots and just being dispatched to places horses needed evacuation," said Linda Ford, spokesperson for the Santa Cruz Fairgrounds where 22 horses are currently under care. "In some cases where owners were not home or fence gates were locked, animal control personnel cut fences to get the animals out."

Theresa Warrell, cofounder and president of the Horse'n Around Rescue Ranch and Foundation in Palominas, was among the volunteers assisting in the evacuation effort.

"About 250 horses were brought to the Sierra Vista Riding Club," Warrell said. "It was like a tent city for horses."

Since the evacuation, horse owners and volunteers have been caring for the animals, Ford said. Meanwhile, evacuation facility operators have received widespread support in the form of donations of everything from hay bales to muck buckets.

"The amount of help we've had is amazing," Ford said. "People have come from all over with donations."

When owners will be allowed to bring their animals home is uncertain. As of June 22, the fire was 45% contained, Paxton said.

But Warrell, who relocated the 23 animals in her care on June 12 just before the fire consumed her 380-acre property, is concerned about animals whose homes have been totally destroyed.

"This fire was so hot it scorched everything; there's ash on the ground four inches deep," Warrell said. "We're already looking at all land options we can for our horses, but a lot of horses have no home to go back to."In the fire's aftermath, Ford believes some displaced owners will need help caring for their animals until they can rebuild their homes, barns, and pastures.

"There's going to have to be some system to provide those people with affordable places to keep their horses and with affordable hay supplies and feed," Ford said.

Meanwhile, Warrell expects her rescue and others will step up to take in animals abandoned after the blaze."

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