Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/horse-goes-back-wildfire/
Living in California, I’ve experienced my fair share of wildfires. They happen every year, but some years are a lot worse than others.
Between 2019-2021, it felt like the state couldn’t catch a break. Those who lived in high-risk areas or evacuation zones felt the pressure and stress of getting to safety, but those with animals had a little more challenges.
After all, no one wants to abandon their pet in a fire. When my house was under evacuation for a wildfire fire in 2020, we had to figure out how to pack up all the dogs, chickens, and ducks safely and we had to do it in the dark, in the smoke, with an eerie orange-red haze filling the sky:
All of our animals were smaller which made it a lot easier, but there were plenty of people working to evacuate horses, cows, and other livestock to transport to safety.
Sometimes, it’s not possible to get your animals to safety. Sometimes, the best you can do as an owner is set your pets free from a cage or hope and pray for the best. If you’re not home at the moment and can’t get back, you just hope that somehow your pets make it out.
During the Easy Fire that burned 1,806 acres in Simi Valley, Ventura County, California in October of 2019, some horses were left to evacuate on their own. People were there working to guide the horses once they made it out of the worst of it, but one horse refused to be helped.
In fact, the horse kept turning around and running back into the fire and the people couldn’t figure out why – until they saw her family!
The sweet horse was going back to save her foal and another horse that hadn’t made it out yet. In the end, the horse family made it to safety and they stuck together to get there.
Footage was captured of the horse running back into the fire to unite with its family.
Watch the incredible footage below:
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Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog