Horses, donkeys, ducks and pigs: In Boring, near Portland, an equestrian center has been transformed into an emergency shelter for animals evacuated by their owners in the face of the spreading fires in Oregon.
In a few hours between Tuesday and Wednesday, the Mount Hood center filled its 80 boxes with horses brought in by owners fleeing the forest fires that were raging just a few dozen kilometers away.
“People were desperate, they had nowhere to go, they were losing their homes, their stables and they didn’t want to lose their animals,” says Aaron Shelley, director of operations at the center.
The accommodation offer is relayed on social networks, and the center is quickly full.
In the boxes, a lot of horses, but also an ox, donkeys, ponies, ducks and pigs.
“The center has already been used for emergency accommodation in recent years, and we had all these empty boxes, for us it was natural to do that”, adds Brandi Hatch, director of the equestrian center.
Despite the nervousness of the animals and the owners, the arrivals were calm.
“Everyone had the same goal and everyone was very respectful of each other,” says Shelley.
It was also necessary to calm many horses used to the open air and panicked by the boxes. “They neighed, hit the walls with their hoofs, it looked like a combat zone,” he says.
“Our door remains open”
“But my team did a wonderful job, staying in front of the boxes, talking to the horses with words of comfort,” he says.
Solidarity played a role and many locals donated food and hay.
“It’s wonderful to see how people came together and helped us,” says Brandi Hatch.
Sarah Anderson, who works in the center, urgently evacuated her four horses on Wednesday.
“I brought the animals first, then I came back with my motorhome, and decided to camp here,” says the 34-year-old.
Her home in Eagle Creek has not been destroyed but she does not know when she will be able to return home.
Saved from the fire, the horses are still under threat from the dense smoke that fills the atmosphere of the Portland area.
“With animals of this size, the danger is inhalation of fumes and the quality of the air,” says Sarah Anderson. “We don’t make them exercise a lot, we walk them at a walk so that they don’t raise their heart rate and make them breathe more than they need to,” she says.
On Sunday, there were only about 20 horses left in the center, the owners having found lasting solutions. But the fires are still progressing and others could replace them.
“We cannot predict who will be affected in the future, our door remains open and we are available to anyone who needs it,” says Aaron Shelley.