More relief allocated through S.A.F.E.R.

Woodside Community Foundation recently allocated another $6,000 to Sonoma Action for Equine Rescue for disaster relief following the North Bay Fires. These funds will again be used to provide vouchers to Tractor Supply and Rainbow Ag for people in the process of rebuilding their barns and corrals.

Mandi, one of the recent fire victims helped by these vouchers provided us with some pictures and a bit of her family’s story.

The photo above shows our property right after the fire. You can even see some of it is still smoking. The big melted metal shed held over 20 years worth of tack that I had accumulated, including my favorite saddle. We barely escaped with our lives, almost having to release the horses to run free. With a turn of luck, we were able to get everyone out that night except the cat (who we found later and is 100% healed now) and the chickens (who are now safe at their new home with a friend). All that is left standing was our well pump house and the chicken coop.

This photo is post clean up which just finally happened December 30, about three months after the fire! You can see remnants of the fence which we will have to tear out and rebuild. The chicken coop was amazingly untouched! You can also see my husband’s motorcycle frame, sacrificed to save my horses — what a man!!

Here are our two horses, Kaylee and Blue. The first photo is the night of the fire with them crammed into a stall at the fairgrounds. The next day a cousin was able to pick them up and give them a lovely pasture for the next several months. They have since been moved back to my in-laws in Potter Valley until we can move home and rebuild fencing. The second shot is of my girls ready for a ride just a month ago, thanks to some donated tack and new grooming supplies I purchased.

Stay tuned for more updates both on additional assistance to horse and livestock owners in the aftermath of the North Bay Fires, and in the more recent Southern California Fires. The Woodside Community Foundation is committed to helping fellow equestrians, ranchers and farmers affected by the recent devastating fires in California.