For the past couple of weeks, Montecito resident and Santa Barbara City College professor Kathy O’Connor has been sleeping in her horse trailer at Earl Warren Showgrounds. As president of the Santa Barbara Equine Assistance & Evacuation Team, O’Connor — herself a Thomas Fire evacuee, along with her horses — has been leading the effort to relocate and evacuate all manner of animals displaced by the natural disaster. Along with horses, her team, working in conjunction with Santa Barbara County Animal Services and the Santa Barbara Humane Society, has looked after cows, donkeys, alpacas, goats, sheep, geese, ducks, an emu, and pigs.
“Our purpose is to provide services to our community in times of emergency,” O’Connor said. “Fire, flood, whatever — we will help evacuate animals and shelter and care for them when their owners can’t.” At the peak of the fire, the showgrounds became home to more than 600 animals spread out in about 500 stalls.
“After the Painted Cave Fire, we realized somebody needs to be around to help horse owners because many people have no place to go and don’t know what to do with their animals,” O’Connor said. “We wanted to make sure there was a safe haven.”
