Horses evacuated after Acorn Boulevard brush fire inched close to horse ranch

CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla. —

Seven horses were evacuated from an equestrian facility in the Ranchettes after the Acorn Boulevard brush fire inched close to the ranch on Clara Drive and Gewant Boulevard.

"I heard the fire trucks, and I heard the fire trucks, and they didn't stop, and they got closer. I walked to the side of the house, and I saw smoke," said Danna Knowles, of Southwest Florida Horses.

The smoke turned into flames just 300 yards from the back pasture. Knowles said her thoughts immediately shifted to the horses.

"My concern was my horses. Everything else could be replaced. Everything: birth certificates, titles. Everything can be replaced," Knowles said. "Those guys are really good to us, and they can't be."

Knowles said helpers arrived quickly.

"There had to be 30 people in my barnyard. Everybody was grabbing horses," Knowles said. "Some of the kids saddled them up, and they pointed them all the way down, probably two miles down the road."

Knowles said she moved her horses as a precaution, but said it would not have been possible without the help of neighbors.

"It was really heartwarming how everybody just. Everybody knows I'm here. They all came. She's going to need help. And they came to help. And they got it done," Knowles said.

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