The recent wildfires in Colorado were devastating for the local population, with over 900 homes being lost and tens of thousands of residents being evacuated. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation, with some media outlets reporting that fire investigators are currently focusing on a property owned by a Christian fundamentalist sect after witnesses reported seeing a shed on fire on Thursday, Dec. 30th prior to the spread.
Among those evacuated were hundreds of animals, including almost one hundred horses from Standley Lake Stables in Arvada, a massive rescue effort that involved barn hands, owners, and total strangers.
“When it started to glow, and we could smell it with that wind, that’s when the panic set in for everybody,” Allie Dirks, who helped move 95 horses, eight steers and three dogs off the property, told a local news station.
Trucks and trailers staged at nearby Flat Iron Mall, ready to respond. (Laura Rogers Greenstreet photo on Horse Evacuation Boulder Fort Collins Fire Facebook)
The human helpers banded together and worked for over three hours, loading horse after horse onto trailers to move them out of danger. According to the report, when the Boulder County large animal shelter reached capacity, Standley Lake Stables diverted to the Jefferson County Fairgrounds.
A Facebook page called Horse Evacuation Boulder Fort Collins Fire was set up during the emergency and the response from locals offering trailering, safe haven, feed and supplies was overwhelming.
“I don’t even know how many trailers, I couldn’t even count them all. It was a constant influx of cars, a constant circle,” Dirks told the news crew.
Fourteen of the horses were still sheltering at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds Saturday, including Whiskey, owned by retired teacher Nancy Dougan. She is seen in the video with the chestnut mare post-rescue. “She means the world to me,” Dougan says. “You picture sparks flying, and you picture horses not wanting to go in the trailer. And you picture the chaos, and the wind.”
A spokesperson for Standley Lake Stables told the media that despite best efforts, one of the older horses couldn’t handle the stress of the evacuation and was put down. Fortunately, the stable was spared from the fire, but still has no power. At least the horses will eventually be able to go home.
Watch the report here:
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