About 180 of 250 Orange County Animal Rescue Team volunteers were on standby with fueled trailers as the Norte fire threatened San Juan Capistrano’s equestrian community, with roughly 300 shelter stalls prepared across the county

By Victoria Le
The Orange County Register

ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. — As the firefighters worked Friday afternoon to contain the spreading Norte fire as it damaged homes and prompted widespread evacuation orders near San Juan Capistrano, volunteers were on standby to evacuate the area’s horse population if needed.

San Juan Capistrano is known for its equestrian community and is home to hundreds of large animals. It has long had its LART, or Large Animal Response Team, in place to respond in case of evacuations in the city.

| NEW RESOURCE: An AAR checklist for incident commanders

“Around that area, there are around 600 to 700 horses,” said Bill Klovstad, who helps lead the Orange County Animal Rescue Team (OCART), a newer county group also dedicated to carting large animals to safety during emergencies. He added that there are several equestrian centers along the 5 Freeway in that stretch of town. “And there’s an excess of about 1,500 horses in the San Juan region.”

While San Juan Capistrano is a hub of equestrian life, there are several communities in Orange County that are home to horse populations.

OCART is a volunteer-based program now operating under the County of Orange. The OC Board of Supervisors late last year formally approved and backed the program with $75,000 in seed money from Supervisor Don Wagner’s Third District discretionary funds covering costs related to insurance, training supplies, a rescue trailer and volunteer equipment such as safety vests, water buckets and flashlights. El Rodeo Rescue in Brea is overseeing the countywide program and the funding.

When the winds started to kick up Thursday, Klovstad said the team put out the call for volunteers who could help if fire broke out and horses needed evacuation somewhere in the county. About 180 of 250 OCART volunteers — “a combination between horse trailers, personnel and volunteers that help at shelter sites” — were “ready to go,” he said, if activation orders were sent out from OC Animal Control and OCART leadership.

“That means they should know that their fuel tanks are filled up, they have all their equipment ready to go, and they’re just in standby. They’re waiting for the next messaging,” Klovstad said.

“Most owners of horses or the handlers of the horses are going to lead them out to a given pickup point, and we’re gonna retrieve them there,” Klovstad said of the rescue plans in place.

The OC Fair & Event Center, which has an equestrian arena, serves as OCART’s designated shelter location and property owners around the county also volunteer space.

“Right now, I’ve established about 300 stalls available throughout different areas of Orange County,” Klovstad said of preparations that got underway at the Santa Ana Winds picked up. “We have the ability to get every horse, not only out of harm’s way, but to get them to a temporary shelter spot. We’re officially on standby mode.”

A Canadian fire department uses a custom burn box to give recruits a controlled, up-close look at flashover and fire suppression in action

October 23, 2026 01:34 PM

The state’s new fire code requires annual inspections for recalled sprinkler heads and property owner notification to local fire departments, addressing a gap exposed by the 2025 Fall River fire that killed 10 residents

October 24, 2026 08:00 AM

Ephrata Chief Jeremy Burns told the city council that EMS needs a sustainable funding source beyond the general fund, floating a voter-approved EMS levy or utility model used in nearby cities

October 24, 2026 12:00 PM

All four rural emergency service districts showcased apparatus and fielded questions from residents at “Inside the Firehouse” to explain how tax dollars fund volunteer fire departments outside city limits

October 25, 2026 12:00 PM

©2026 MediaNews Group, Inc.
Visit ocregister.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Terrain Follow allows any Paladin drone to automatically adjust its altitude as the ground below rises and falls

September 28, 2026 11:41 AM