黑料福利社

As flood warnings got more serious on Monday evening, Kim Head knew she had to pack up her horses and leave.

The Snohomish County resident, who lives outside Monroe, had 14 horses to move as river predictions climbed and floods threatened the property.

Gathering some friends and people who board their horses on her property, Head began loading the horses into trailers and made her way to the Evergreen State Fairgrounds, where other Snohomish County evacuees were bringing hundreds of animals 鈥� horses, cows, pigs, fowl and goats 鈥� to keep them away from rising floodwaters.聽

鈥淓vacuations are never fun,鈥� Head said. 鈥淭hese guys are used to being out in big fields all day, every day, so then coming into a barn, some of them aren鈥檛 doing so well.鈥�

While the strain of travel and getting settled in a new place has been hard on the animals and those caring for them, Head and others say the fairground has been a soft landing during a stressful time.聽

鈥淧eople are showing up to volunteer to clean stalls. There鈥檚 coffee every morning, doughnuts, there鈥檚 water bottles. Somebody brought us pizza last night,鈥� Head said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just been absolutely amazing.鈥�

Mike Ohlsen, the manager of the fair park, said the site has been an emergency shelter for animals during floods before. But the scope of this week鈥檚 flooding was new. He said this is the biggest evacuation he鈥檚 seen in 30 years.

鈥淣ot everything is exactly put together the way it needs to be, but we鈥檝e got an incredible team here, and we鈥檙e able to get things that weren鈥檛 ready, ready in a hurry,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e not seen this many cattle before, so we were able to quickly put up extra pens and corrals and set up stuff to hold a lot more than we normally have.鈥�

He said while the past few days have been a lot of work for fairgrounds staff, it鈥檚 nothing compared to what livestock owners have had to go through.

As of Friday, the fairgrounds had taken in 171 horses, 140 chickens, 104 cattle, 94 goats, 16 pigs, three rabbits and two turkeys.

Ohlsen said while the fairgrounds is used to accommodating large numbers of people and livestock during the fair itself, it was a challenge to get assembled for an emergency situation.

But he said fair staff stepped in, as well as rangers from the Snohomish County Parks system, which oversees the fairgrounds.

There were a few events scheduled for the fairgrounds this week, such as an indoor motor sports event, that had to be canceled. Ohlsen said everyone has been understanding.

鈥淣ot like moving a dog鈥�

The past few days have posed logistical challenges for livestock owners in flood-prone areas: Many have leaned on friends and the community for space in their barns and pastures. Others have volunteered to help trailer animals to safer ground, shuttling back and forth.

聽At rescue hubs like the fairgrounds, many of the animals are not used to being confined to such small spaces, and being around other animals they鈥檙e not used to can stress them out.

Ebey Island resident Kathleen Porter-Swartz and her husband moved 12 horses, 20 chickens, three bunnies, three cows and two turkeys into the fairground stalls. On Friday morning, shortly before they prepared to return to their property, they stayed busy shoveling out manure and wood shavings from the stalls, refilling the chickens鈥� water dishes through their cages and feeding them. Their young son dragged a push broom through the aisles, keeping them clear of straw and dirt.聽

鈥淐leaning stalls is a tough one, I don鈥檛 have to do that at home,鈥� Porter-Swartz said. 鈥淚 just take my tractor and push stuff.鈥�

Getting back home, they anticipated, would be just as much work.

Keeping the animals calm is another challenge. Food can help, as can light medication, said Kecia Lee.

Lee, who evacuated eight horses from Snohomish, said horses also get stressed because they want to be near each other.

鈥淔or our horse, it was the fact that she was next to her best friend but couldn鈥檛 see her,鈥� Lee said. 鈥淪o we moved her right across and she鈥檚 been ridiculously calm ever since. So you do whatever you can to try and solve what we think is the problem.鈥澛�

Owners also have to keep the horses exercised.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e scared, they鈥檙e confused,鈥� said Roberto Ortiz, a Monroe resident who brought 16 horses to the fairgrounds. He said he likely won鈥檛 be able to go home until Saturday or Sunday when roads reopen. He anticipates lots of work at the farm, including fixing gates and restocking grain and wood shavings.聽

While it hasn鈥檛 been a major concern, keeping the horses healthy has also been top of mind. An equine virus has been affecting horses across the country. But while two horses in Spokane tested positive for the virus, livestock owners at the fairgrounds Friday said there hasn鈥檛 been a big risk in Western Washington so far.

Even as they wait out the flood and anticipate lots of work as they return to their properties, livestock owners said they were grateful to have the option of the fairgrounds.

鈥淚 think what people really don鈥檛 get is that it鈥檚 not just like moving a dog, throwing them in the car, right? We have to bring hay, we have to bring bedding. Luckily there鈥檚 been so many donations and stuff,鈥� Lee said. 鈥淭he community has been amazing.鈥�