May 6, 2016 
For the sixth consecutive day, wildfires continued to rage in Fort McMurray. More than 85,000 hectares of land and an estimated 1,600 structures have already been destroyed in what is the largest fire evacuation in Albertan history. Among those damaged is believed to be Clearwater Horse Club.
Video surveillance footage from the property identified fire in one paddock, with a large fire in progress behind the surrounding area.
“We have not confirmed the actual damage. We do believe that there has been some structure damage to individual barns,” said Charity Wiley, public relations director of Clearwater Horse Club. “Whether that has affected our main structure—our riding arena and clubhouse and all of our equipment—has not been confirmed.”
The property, which houses 40 individual paddocks, an indoor riding arena and community Clubhouse, narrowly escaped damage earlier this week. Over 100 horses were evacuated from the facility on Sunday—most of which were shipped north to pastures at Tower Road Campgrounds.
By Tuesday afternoon, a change in wind seemed to spare the Club but threatened the campground, forcing a second evacuation. Within two hours, the area was engulfed in flames, giving rescuers and owners only a short window to ship the horses out. Those that could not fit on trailers or be ridden away were released to escape the fire.
“It’s just another example of how quickly things are changing,” said Wiley. “When we were evacuating the second time, on Tuesday, it looked like the Clubhouse was saved. Within a matter of hours, the wind shifted back in the direction that forced the initial evacuation on Sunday. That’s when we believe we sustained some damage.”
Wiley estimates that about 25 horses are currently unaccounted for. With the fires expected to continue to rage over the next few days, rescue efforts are on hold indefinitely.
“We have not been able to get back in to do a rescue mission for horses. We are hoping that they are finding places to graze and water sources around the residential area. When it is safe to do so, we will go in with trailers and try to collect them,” she said.
In the meantime, the Club is preparing for the rescue effort.
“We’re trying to get owners who released their horses to send in pictures and descriptions so that we can collaborate an effort to go look for them together,” continued Wiley.
Some, like Megan Bastien, have taken to social media in an effort to locate their missing horses.
As of Thursday evening, her post has been shared over 5,000 times.
Several organizations have offered to collect donations on behalf of Clearwater Horse Club. At this time, Wiley says it is unclear what will be required.
“Until the fire is under control and we know our next move, there really is not much [to do]. If we did lose individual paddock spaces, there would have been years worth of hay storage, so that could be a potential issue that we are facing. I did hear that some members are trying to donate tack and things like that. Again, we don’t know what we’re going to need until we assess the damage. But those are some of the items that will be first on the list once we confirm how many structures we lost,” she said.
“For right now, the horses that did get out are safe. They’re in areas that are south. If people feel compelled to, they can certainly donate to the Red Cross efforts because presently the fire is still out of control.”
No deaths—equine or human—have been reported.
Stay tuned for further updates.
