Mounted search and rescue

[pennbo@verizon.net]

IN a perfect evac situation what Irv described works well. However in rough rural mountain terrain with fire cresting ridges using whatever rigs will fit into the area  ....well, the list gets longer and deviates a bit from this one.

1st- Make a plan for YOUR area and what types of evac's YOU are likely to encounter. One size does NOT fit all in this case.
2nd- SAFETY SAFETY SAFETY. Your team's welfare must be considered before that of any animals you are evac'ing. Must. I know we all know this but saying it and actually developing procedures that make sure it happens are two different things. 

We have learned a lot over the past 10 years of evac'ing for major wildfires. Every fire season we learn more. And we live with knowing it will probably never be enough to save every animal that needs us. The best thing you can do in your area is to keep the animals owners thinking about what THEY will do if they need to evac their own animals. The responsibility needs to be squarely on their shoulders. If the general public is prepared what's left if much more manageable. :-)

Chris

 

 

On 09/05/11, IRVIN LICHTENSTEIN<ilichten1@verizon.net> wrote:

I have been involved in two evacuations ofboarding barns. In both cases the horses were rarely hauled because they wereless than a ¼ mile from

public trails.  The easiest way to do itwas:

1. Get the biggest stock trailer you could.  We used a local dealer’s 8 horse bumper pulls and 16 horse goosenecks.
2. Load paddock mates together. The horses were tuned out in groups of 8 to 12 on a daily basis and had established herds
3. Load the trailers as tight as possible, leave no room for fighting or falling down.
4. Load with confidence and convey calm to the horses.
5. Move them as a group like they were being turned out. Make sure there are halters on.
6. When you unload use a chute and just let them go into the new paddock or turnout which should have water and hay ready.
7. Don’t worry about anything in transit except getting there safely. 
8. No stops, no unloading every 4 hours, no food or water enroute is needed in most cases.
9. Convoy, lights on.  On a long run have a “rescue” truck with fuel, extra tires, tools, and a mechanic
10. Have spare tires and tools but only stop for flats or coupler failures. Anything else gets fixed at the end of the run.
11. Use rope or webbing to safety doors and dividers.
12. Keep track of which group went in which trailer and where they ended up. We don’t have brand inspection but the barn managers know their horses and knowing which bunch was in which new turnout was a starting point.  Writing numbers on their rumps like endurance horses also helps.

 

Make sure the route is known to everydriver and navigator in case you have to split the convoy. If possible notifythe authorities you are coming and check for traffic

bottlenecks. Have cash for tolls and fuel,not everybody takes credit cards or check cards.  Have a map and know how touse it.  Cell phones are nice but rural networks will overload if there iscoverage at all and GPS doesn’t know about road closures. 

 

Irv Lichtenstein

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From:msar-riders-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org[mailto:msar-riders-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of pennbo@verizon.net
Sent: Monday, September 05, 20116:25 PM
To: msar-riders@lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: Re: [MSAR] Texas wildfires

 

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