|
4/4/07
Bob and Jane Fleck are awarded their Ham Radio licenses
to improve their emergency communications capacity when
they volunteer to evacuate horses during wildfire emergencies. |
Not long after we moved to our small ranch in N. LA County,
a polo player friend of Jane's, Carol, suggested we go on
call with her and a loose confederation of her horsey pals,
all of whom had trucks w/horse trailers. The grim statistic
is that only one in ten horses in LA County has a trailer
for it.
The
steadfast Jerry & Margo White (the go-to folks for handling
exotic animals in LA) were in charge for Animal Control the
first few years. They retired, the outfit got way more organized,
we were issued jumpsuits & ID's, went through lots of
certification drills and we still haul horses from harm's
way when wildfire erupts.
These
events can get pretty western, we handle all large animals.
Pigs can be moved backwards if a bucket is put over their
head. Or two people can take sheets of plywood and herd them
into a trailer. Really. Goats are nimble and hard to snag
in an open field. Mostly, all creatures are scared and glad
to hitch a ride somewhere it isn't burning.