San Juan Capistrano-based team rescues horses from wildfires and other disasters

Jose Gutierrez evacuates horses in Simi Valley as the Easy fire burned the morning of Oct. 30. “We’ve had such a good history of equestrians helping other equestrians,” said Julie Ryan Johnson, a veterinarian and board member of the San Juan Equestrian Coalition. “These are beautiful creatures that are scared and at-risk and people want to help.” San Juan Capistrano established the Large Animals Response Team in 2008 to assist the city’s Community Emergency Response Team. “We’ve had very preliminary conversations at the staff level involving the future of LART and the optimal structure to provide countywide emergency response,” Mata said in a prepared statement. “If San Juan is not going to be our county LART program, then I think it’s definitely time for someone to step up to the plate,” Friedrich said.