Know Before You Go Wildfire tips
Once again the powers that be are predicting an increase in wildfires throughout the West. I’m Susan Allen and when Open Range returns, I’ll be back with some wild-fire emergency pre-planning tips for livestock owners from the experts.Several years ago we were on high alert for wild fire evacuation, and while we were scrambling to gather belongings and prepare to move our horses, one aspect of preparation that we hadn’t considered was the smoke and hot debris that begin raining on our property as we were waiting for the order to leave, how to protect all our animals. The National Interagency Fire Center a group that works with state and local agencies to develop wildfire preparedness plans encourages livestock owners to develop a know-before-you go- strategy that should include exit routes out of fire zones and advance arrangement of where to take evacuated horses, livestock and pets.Gina Gonzales an assistant instructor for Large Animal Emergency Rescue Inc councils owners that don’t have options to evacuate large animals to stock up on enough food and water for five to seven days. It is also important to mark horses should they become separated from their owners by using a permanent marker with contact information on the animal’s hooves . Even if a barn has a sprinkler system Gonzales advices moving horses from barns to paddocks and also placing signage that informs firefighters of the number of animals remaining on the property. It is also imperative to create a defensible space for the horses with 100-ft perimeter free of brush, trees, and chemicals .
