Fire in the Valley

We had a fire in Carbondale on Tuesday. The fire, burning along the valley floor, got out of control with 50 mph winds.

In the morning I drove up valley toward Aspen, the sky was clear and beautiful. An hour later when I returned to Carbondale the skies were billowing with smoke. Tailwind Ranch, sits on the ridge above the valley. I immediately drove to the ranch. Teri, the ranch manager, and I scouted the fire for about an hour, driving to points along the ridge to get glimpses of what was below. Smoke was moving past the pasture and the house. Winds continued to gust. We grew concerned that the fire might jump to the hillside and move up over the ridge.

We returned to the ranch and saw the fire truck pulled up along the road along the lower pasture fence line. We made the decision.

We have eight horses on the property but only enough room for six in the two trailers. Luckily Teri’s friend called to let us know she was on her way with her two-horse trailer. Phone lines went down and the cell phones stopped working. Terri and I hooked up the two ranch trailers to the trucks. The winds continued to blow as we brought the horses from the pasture to load. Only one horse got nervous and did not want to be caught. Eventually he came to us. Three trucks and trailers loaded with eight horses and five dogs left the ranch and headed to another farm about eight miles away.

Horses can become unsettled when the wind picks up. Suddenly pulling the whole herd out of pasture and into trailers can cause confusion and disruption to the herd cohesiveness. Unloading horses onto someone else's property can sometimes cause stress. All of the horses that we hauled had not been integrated as a herd. Moon (my horse) and two yearlings had just arrived a week ago. There were also the two horses on the property where we were arriving to consider. It took us a while to figure out who could go with whom without anyone fighting or running through fences. Through the whole process the horses were remarkably calm.

The winds stopped at about 2 am last night. The horses were hauled back to the ranch today. Ironically, as I write this, only one day after evacuating horses, I watch snow falling outside my window. It was about 65 degrees yesterday. Mother nature continues to speak loudly to us with these extremes in the environment. Are we listening?

This was an eye opening experience for me. With two horses at two different ranches and owning no trailer (yet) I am dependent on others. Luckily the horse community sticks together. Streams of trailers came down off the mountains to help evacuated 70 horses from a barn on the valley floor. One person had minor injuries, and only two buildings were damaged. Unfortunately other Colorado communities have not faired as well.

I have only been at the ranch for one week. Teri and I worked smoothly together during this wild day. She was well prepared and I supported the process in every way I could. It was a reminder for me that we all need a plan of action when it comes to fire or any natural disaster. It doesn’t matter if you have horses or not. Having a plan is important. Everyone needs to know who to call, what their job is, and what needs to be saved first.

Today I feel thankful that our community was preserved and all people and animals are safe. I express my appreciation to all of you who have offered support and concern.

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