Horse Gets Stuck Fleeing California Fires — And Town Comes Together To Save Him

Early Tuesday morning, Gina Silva, a reporter with Fox 11, was covering the spreading wildfires near Sylmar, California, when she stumbled upon another emergency.

An older horse was trapped in a ditch, his feet in the air, clearly in distress. He had fallen into the crevice while fleeing the fire, Silva believed.

With limited resources at her disposal, Silva took to Twitter immediately, posting a picture of the trapped horse and a plea for help.

With firefighters busy tamping out the nearby blaze, viewers on their way to work stopped what they were doing and jumped into action.

In a mere 20 minutes, several people who had seen Silva’s posts or had been following the live coverage of the trapped horse on TV arrived at the scene, offering their assistance — and it made all the difference.

The disparate group quickly pooled their skills to make the horse more comfortable, and then tried to free him.

“A veterinarian tranquilized the horse, others began moving furniture out of a garage and LA County fire freed up a small crew to help with the rescue,” Silva wrote on Instagram. “They all tore down the wall to free the animal.”

As the fire ripped through Southern California, it became clear to viewers watching the rescue unfold in real time that the destruction could not tear their community apart.

“It was amazing to see the viewers spring into action this morning!!! There still is good in this world!” one Instagram user wrote in a comment.

The horse was taken to a nearby animal hospital around 9 a.m., where he was treated for his injuries and reunited with his owners.

Whether the horse will make a full recovery is still unknown, but all signs point to “yes.”

“‘Kenny’ was doing better as of 9:30 p.m. tonight. He is up on all four legs. All bandaged up and treated,” another Instagram user commented. “He is the nicest calm boy with loving owners.”

After the ordeal that the horse suffered, his recovery is a miracle — and he has Silva and his quick-thinking neighbors to thank.