While the Esperanza wildfire burned around them, approximately 100 horses were able to wait out the blaze in their own pastures in Riverside County, Calif., with care from Riverside Emergency Animal Rescue Services (REARS). According to Frank Corvino, deputy director of the Riverside County Department of Animal Services, REARS volunteers found and helped look after horses residing on large ranches in areas inaccessible to trailer rigs for evacuation.

“It was a fast-moving fire without access to the top,” said Corvino “In some smaller communities at the top of the mountain such as Poppet Flat, there were two large ranches with about 40 or 50 horses each that couldn’t be evacuated.”

Volunteer crews discovered the animals in the fire zone while surveying the region for horses in need of care. Despite the blaze, Corvino said ranch owners were able to keep small crews on-site to care for the horses. Volunteers checked on the horses throughout the blaze to keep them calm, fed, and watered.

“They all came through it in very good condition,” Corvino said