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Horses evacuated from fire are reunited with their owners

Posted at 10:54 AM, Dec 10, 2017
and last updated 2017-12-10 10:58:05-05

Hundreds of horses evacuated in the Lilac fire in San Diego County, California have been reunited with their owners.

Many of the horses were stressed but they are now in good hands.

24 hours earlier, Susan Dube didn't know if she would ever see her two horses Felix and Howie again.

"It's hard horrible it was an inferno at where my horses are thank God rescued," Dube said.

They were among the hundreds of horses evacuated out of the path of the Lilac fire as it raced through the hills of Bonsall.

"My barn is standing this morning. The trainers house is standing," Dube remarked.

A vet checked on her 27-year-old horse Felix, saying, "He's a little dehydrated got tummy ache, they get backed up when stressed out."

Many horses were rescued in time. But at least 46 horses didn't make it.

Dawn Principe Moser was one of the hundreds of volunteers at the stables today bringing them apples and carrots and a lot of love. 

But it was a long night. Several more homes were destroyed by the fire that slowly died down with the winds. 

And at the Oceanside High School evacuation shelter, Natalie Schecknieder and her husband didn't get much sleep with their pets.

"I just want to go home. I just hope and pray that our house is there," Schecknieder said.

Once it was safe, the surviving horses were taken to the Del Mar race track.