Equine emergency staging

Horse Mesa Ranch the Village of Oak Creek is the first equine emergency staging area in the Verde Valley to partner with Equine Emergency Evacuation services of Yavapai County.

On May 1 the ranch held its first equine evacuation demonstration drill. With fire season underway, interest in the process was very high and the attendance was strong.

Carol Fontana, lead evacuator and board chair of EEE said, “It is important the Verde Valley is the first expansion of the EEE presence in the County. Last year, most of the significant wildfires in the County were here. Our new presence will greatly expand our response times and capabilities here.”

Mary Morris, the new owner of Horse Mesa Ranch, welcomed the attendees and expressed her appreciation to all of the ranch advocates and the county for granting the continuation of the special use permit. “The community asked for this last boarding facility in the greater Sedona area to be saved and we are so pleased to be able to continue Bee Gordon’s legacy founded in 1979. We are especially excited about our new collaboration with EEE,” stated Morris.

Carol Fontana, EEE CEO, and John Hughes, EEE president, talked about how their evacuation process works, including a demonstration of their communications trailer and equine evacuation transportation. They showed their very precise ability to track via GPS all the trucks and trailers staging and evacuating animals during a fire or other emergency.

EEE volunteers demonstrated their skill, expertise and keys to success when arriving at an emergency staging area.

EEE has established a working relationship with the three Arizona Ranger companies in Yavapai County. Their presence and professionalism provide first rate traffic control, site integrity and physical security for the thirty EEE staging areas around the County.

Art Bertolina, a Verde Valley AZ Ranger who also boards his horses at Horse Mesa Ranch commented that the timing for this partnership with EEE and the proactive demo drill is just one example of how Horse Mesa Ranch is improving to serve the equine community.

In addition to many Horse Mesa Ranch boarders, representatives from Back Country Horsemen of Central Arizona, other horse owners from Verde Valley and an extensive number of volunteers with the Equine Emergency Evacuation services of Yavapai County participated.

Learn more at eeyc.org and horsemesaranch.net.