After the 6,000-acre Marshall Fire ripped through Colorado Thursday, law enforcement officials and volunteers gathered to care for more than 60 horses dropped off by people fleeing the blaze.
“We got busy last night,” said Christine Padilla, a supervisor with the Jefferson County sheriff’s office Animal Control division, according to The Denver Post. “And we’ve been busy all day today.”
Overall, county staff and volunteers from the Jefferson County Horse Council took in 61 horses at the county fairgrounds Thursday night, said The Post. Most were dropped off due to emergency circumstances and people began picking up the animals starting Friday.
“We appreciate all the people who were helping,” Padilla said. “We all come together when we have emergencies.”
According to KUSA, no deaths have yet been reported due to the fire, but two people were missing as of Friday evening. Officials estimate around 1,000 homes burned in the blaze, which impacted the Boulder County towns of Superior and Louisville and forced 30,000 residents to evacuate.
With the evacuations, more than horses were impacted. By Saturday morning, there were close to 16,000 members in the Facebook group “Boulder County Fire Lost & Found Pets” which aims to reunite people and their pets.
One of the families searching for their pet this weekend was the Herringtons of Louisville. When authorities banged on their door to tell them to evacuate as flames closed in on their home, they lost track of Violet, an 8-year-old Boston terrier mix with a microchip.
“We have two little kids, houses were burning on our street and we just bolted,” Jason Herrington said. “We don’t know if she ran outside or was cowering somewhere.”
Their home was completely destroyed in the blaze. For now, they are focused on finding Violet.
“She’s a part of our family,” Herrington said.
People searching for their pets should avoid fire areas and cordoned off areas. Since pets may have endured trauma during the fire, people should approach them with care if they spot them.
While many people in the Boulder County area are left without homes, cold temperatures and snow are expected to hit the area.
Shelters are open in the area for those in need, with at least one accepting pets.
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