Volunteers raced to save horses evacuated during the Easy Fire as flames raged nearby Wednesday morning.
Ventura County Animal Services put out a call for help for volunteers with horse trailers who could get the large animals to safety.
They asked those people who want to help to text 805-469-0896 with a picture of their license plate, drivers license and indicate where they are coming from.
Two shelters set up for large animals are full and not accepting any more animals, but the Rancho Potrero Community Equestrian Center, 4790 West Lynn Road, in Thousand Oaks was opened Wednesday afternoon.
🔥 #EasyFire: If you have a horse trailer and WANT TO HELP. TEXT (805) 469-0896 with the info below. No trucks without trailers needed. ALSO Simi Valley Animal Shelter is CLOSED for adoptions today. pic.twitter.com/6payKZDIQV
— VC Animal Services (@VCAnimalService) October 30, 2019
Along 1100 block of Tierra Rejada Road, as flames raged and winds gusted nearby, people led horses into the back of trailers, video from the scene showed.
About 9 a.m. an out building in the area was engulfed in flames as people tried to corral more frightened horses.
Goats could also be seen wandering near flames.
At that point, the fire had burned 400 acres, but just an hour later, the blaze had more than doubled in size to 1,300 acres, officials said.
In Moorpark, “Silence of the Lambs” actress Brooke Smith tweeted that trailers were needed at 15608 Tierra Rejada Road in Moorpark.
WE NEED TRAILERS AT CASTLEROCK. JUST GOT EVAC ORDERS. 40 horses here with no trailers
15608 Tierra Rejada Rd
Moorpark, CA 93021 #EasyFire https://t.co/ZiVUuzRlEr— Brooke Smith (@Iam_BrookeSmith) October 30, 2019
“40 horses here with no trailers,” she tweeted about 7:50 a.m.
Friedman told people trying to get their horses to safety to remain calm and not to let horses run free.
He said conditions in the fire were changing very quickly and that while some ranches are safe, others are in the path of flames.
“The winds are so fierce that they’re just blowing in different directions, and everything is very very dynamic right now.”
For more information about animal evacuations during the Easy Fire, visit the Ventura County Animal Services website.