As California wildfire rages, volunteers help rescue horses, livestock

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

(Reuters) - When a wildfire began spreading out of control near her small ranch in Hemet, California, last Monday, Debby Taylor had one major concern: how to protect her donkeys.

She wrote her phone number on their halters, in case she was forced to set them loose. By Tuesday, however, the animals were on their way to a local thoroughbred horse farm, thanks to a network of local volunteers who sprang into action in recent days to rescue hundreds of horses, goats and other animals from the raging Fairview fire.

Taylor turned to Rena Salomon, a local woman whose nonprofit organization, Angel in a Hummer & HEART Foundation, transported some 800 animals from the danger zone over four grueling days with almost no rest.

Salomon, 57, who has spent years doing disaster relief, decided to start an animal evacuation team after the Lilac fire in 2017 in southern California killed dozens of horses.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/as-california-wildfire-rages-volunteers-help-rescue-horses-livestock/ar-AA11HN9f

[cilla4progress]

1. Heart-wrenching.

I have provided my info to our local Humane Society to take in livestock in the event of fire. I have an extra stall and pasture available.

My heart breaks for the wild ones who can't get out.

Horrible mess we've made.

[Bayard]

2. Ms. Salomon is one of many heroes

When I lived in CA, this was always a big fear. The first night we were there, I walked out and the whole, higher, mountainside above us was on fire. I was trying to figure out how to evacuate 3 horses with a 2 horse trailer. That fire burned for weeks, and news crews were camped out on our road.

[BigmanPigman]

3. Dozens of Caged Dogs Found on Property Burned in Border 32 Fire, Prompting Investigation

"As San Diego County Animal Service workers were rescuing animals stuck amid the flames of the Border 32 Fire burning between Dulzura and Potrero,. they came across a property engulfed in flames with close to 50 dogs tied up and caged, unable to flee from the inferno surrounding them.""Rescue staff told NBC 7 they could hear dogs barking and howling in darkness as they worked to pull them out. Altogether, they rescued a couple of large livestock, chickens, peacocks, ducks and several dogs, Animal Services Lt. Talia Padilla said. However, no dead animals were found on the property."

“It was actually pretty surprising based on the amount of burn on that property,” Lt. Padilla said. Crews had to bring the majority of them out one by one because the driveway was blocked by fire. The discovery prompted the county to launch an animal cruelty investigation, according to a county spokesperson."

"In total, Animal Services crews rescued more than 120 pets and livestock from the flames – 59 dogs, 23 birds, 15 goats, five pigs, six emu, six horses, four tortoise and a cow."

https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/dozens-of-animals-rescued-on-property-scorched-by-border-32-fire-animal-cruelty-investigation-launched/3038095/

These stories reak my heart.

[DFW]

4. I had hoped this video would be obsolete by now. No such luck.