Equine evacuation plans were put to the test in Colorado when the Overland Fire in canyons northwest of Boulder grew so quickly that within just a few hours, 3,500 acres were engulfed and indefensible. The fire started on the morning of Oct. 29 in James Canyon near Jamestown, Colo., and spread east. On Oct. 30, crews were able to create a fire line in the Boulder Open Space called Heil Valley Ranch, one mile from US Highway 36. Tanker crews stayed in the area to check on hot spots for several days.

Officials from the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office animal control department and area barn managers estimated between 350 and 400 horses were at risk; 60 were evacuated to the nearby county fairgrounds, a designated evacuation site.

After the Hayman Fire of 2001, Boulder Country animal control officer Terri Snyder wrote an evacuation plan to identify a network of volunteers with trucks and trailers to haul horses to the fairgrounds.  Her two chief resources were the Boulder County Horseman’s Association (www.boulderhorse.org) and the county’s mounted search and rescue squads.

“This is the first time we’ve had to use it,” Snyder said of the plan, adding that spotty cell phone coverage in the mountains made reaching stand-by volunteers difficult