SCU Lightning Complex
During the SCU Lightning Complex Fires, Hold Your Horses Livestock Evacuation Emergency Response Team has been evacuating horses, livestock, and small animals in various locations throughout Contra Costa County and Alameda County for the Canyon Fire.
Starting with the Deer Complex Fire, Hold Your Horses was called in to lead livestock and animal evacuations throughout the mandatory evacuation zone. HYH worked hand in hand with CalFire and the Contra Costa County Firefighters to safely evacuate horses, livestock, and many small animals.
Most recently, the HYH Strike Team was called in by the fire department and was dispatched by Alameda County Animal Services for evacuations in Livermore. HYH evacuated a large number of horses, cattle, donkeys, goats, and various small animals from ranches and properties within the evacuation zone. With the fire approaching, the Strike Team worked tirelessly to get the animals safely to the Alameda Fairgrounds. Animals were evacuated day and night, with evacuations continuing all night long into the early hours of the next morning.
While the Strike Team was on the front lines providing emergency evacuations behind the fire line, the HYH Dispatch Team aided in organizing evacuations and shelters in numerous locations, including Vacaville, Gilroy, and Morgan Hill. We received over 500 calls, emails, and texts asking for help and guidance on evacuating their animals.
Now that many of these animals have been safely evacuated to shelter locations or safely sheltered in place, we have begun organizing feed and supply drops to ranches all over, from Gilroy to Tracy to Vacaville to anyone that needs help. We have numerous donation drop off locations, where we are collecting animal feed and supplies, as well monetary donations through Venmo, PayPal, and Facebook. All donations are tax-deductible as we are a 501c3 Nonprofit organization. Our feed and supply drops to affected livestock owners and their animals will continue through the next few months, so that we can help owners relieve some of the stress and burden as they rebuild their lives.
