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by Mary Jane Schmudlach
Word spread quickly on social media for the need to move precious cargo.
People from all over the area, even some statewide, converged on the area to assist Amish farmers and numerous other rural residents and small farms with animals of all kind.
Trailers of all kinds arrived to evacuate horses, livestock, sheep, pigs, hundreds of rabbits, chickens, kittens, cats, dogs, etc.
One Hancock horse owner who had several trailers ready for the numerous horses in her pasture, had received the notice to prepare for evacuation. They were waiting for the official word, watching the sky, and the direction of the smoke.
Her fiancé was mowing down a pasture near the house to begin watering it down. She was hoping the power would stay on, as word was out, power lines were being damaged by the extreme heat.
She said, “I won’t sleep a wink,” wondering if the wind will shift and the fires start up again and move as quickly as they did today.
Trucks pulling those horse trailers of all sizes, small to extremely large expensive rigs were seen winding through the country back roads, often very sharp turns to haul the precious cargo, be it a horse, tiny hedge hogs or 300 rabbits in crates.
“We might have been competitive at a horse show, but when there is a big need, the horse community will come together to help,” said Allie Spillner.
Due to the closure of Highway 21 for road construction, and police barricading side roads due to numerous structure fires as the blazes passed through the dry grasses, it was a maze to find a way through the area. If you were stopped on the side of the road, figuring out your next move, other travelers stopped to check on you or offer their help.
As of Monday night, many neighborhood families still have no idea which of their neighbors took a direct loss. It’s easy to say there is a lot of worry and sadness not yet knowing the damage.
As one individual said, “We see days of snowstorms, lightning, storms, tornadoes, we’re used to them. But fast moving destructive grass and woods fires with major structures and homes burning, we are not used to this.”
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