Officials confirmed last week that 29 hoses died at a Sylmar, California, ranch during the Creek fire. The Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control officers tried to save the horses. While ranch owners told owners not to padlock stalls, some did resulting in the horrific deaths. In San Diego County, at least 46 horses died in a thoroughbred training facility during the Lilac wildfire.
Source: Los Angeles Times, December 14, 2017 (paywall)
The department received a request for help at 8:45 a.m. Animal control officers rescued as many horses as they could, and broke the padlocks off 10 stalls, the department said in a statement.
INSIGHTS: While we can’t plan for every disaster, having evacuation or relocation plans in place for every facility where animals are confined is critical to animal welfare and public opinion. It doesn’t matter if you’re operation is located in the middle of wildfire country or Tornado Alley, a written evacuation component as part of a crisis plan is critical to maintaining public support.