Horses Escape Injury During Falls Fire

When fire broke out Monday morning behind Kate Roth’s equestrian property off the Ortega Highway, her reaction was almost instinctual.

“We could see flames – they were dropping fire retardant,” she explained. 

That's when gut reaction kicked in.

“It’s better to evacuate than wish you would have," she said.

Roth lives in San Juan Capistrano but owns 10 acres off the Ortega in Morrell Canyon, where she owns and operates an equine layup facility called Canyon Oaks Ranch.

Sometime after 10 a.m. Monday, she received a call from her ranch manager who said a fire had broken out at the home next door to Canyon Ranch.

Fire officials have yet to confirm that the house fire ignited the Falls Fire, but they do acknowledge the structure blaze and say it remains under investigation.

“You better get up here,” the ranch manager told Roth.

She was already on her way, but there would be a slight change of plan. Roth said she has been trained by the City of San Juan Capistrano as a Large Animal Rescue Team member. She is also trained as a Community Emergency Response Team member. With that background, phone calls had to be made.

Within a short period of time, the horse community had networked and 15 people and five horse trailers were at the ready to begin hauling livestock out of Morrell Canyon.

In total, there were only 16 equines in Roth’s group – 15 from her property and one from a neighbor nearby. There were adult horses, one baby and some burros.

The group, with horses in tow, staged at a ranch down the road from Roth's place, further from smoke and flames. Packed and ready to go on a moment’s notice, the fellow equestrians and their charges waited for word from firefighters.

Around 2 p.m. Roth said the blaze took an ominous turn.

“We were watching the progress. It happened to be a very stubborn fire,” she said.

The smoke plumes became larger and the wind appeared to shift, Roth explained.

That’s when the team loaded up and caravanned to Orange County.

As word of the fire spread, Roth's phone was blowing up.

“What do you need from us? How can we help? We will make a stall for you.”

The invitations were coming from various equine facilities throughout the OC, including Ortega Equestrian Center in San Juan Capistrano, Nellie Gail Ranch in Laguna Hills, Rancho Sierra Vista in San Juan Capistrano, and Serrano Creek in Lake Forest.

“It just shows you how good people are,” Roth said.

All of the equines under Roth’s care were safely evacuated without incident.

“They are doing excellent,” said Ortega Equestrian Center owner Kathy Holman, who took in several of Roth’s animals.

Roth said she will wait to hear word from officials before bringing the equines back to her ranch. The Ortega remains precarious and firefighters are still tackling hotspots near her property, she said.

“There are not enough words to thank the firefighters,” she continued. “There was unbelievable support out there.”

As to why her place and her animals were spared, Roth says it's simple.

“It was only by the grace of God and the work of firefighters.”

Despite the high number of ranches in the area impacted by the Falls Fire, U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Vickie Wright said Monday she was unaware of any equine deaths attributed to the blaze.

“People were able to get their horses squared away,” she said.