SUFFOLK, Va. — A Suffolk community rallied together to evacuate 28 horses from Harmonia Equestrian on Copeland Road after a nearby brush fire rapidly spread.
The fire burned about 100 acres and took firefighters five hours to contain. The Suffolk Fire Marshal’s Office charged one person with carelessly causing a fire. No injuries were reported, and every horse made it out safely.
Jennifer Rose Musicaro and her daughter Reagan Rose were about to ride horses at their farm when they noticed smoke rising above the trees nearby.
"We were about to pull out the horses and we started seeing smoke in the corner over here," Musicaro said.
At first, they thought it was a controlled burn, but quickly realized it was not.
"The brush was starting to burn down the powerlines and then there were some side piles of big stacks of logs that were on fire. But as we were checking that out the fire department started so we thought they’re here everything is under control like let's head back to the farm," Musicaro said.
The fire spread rapidly, forcing them to evacuate all 28 horses. Musicaro turned to social media for help.
"My husband is away in Maryland with our bigger trailer, if for some reason we have to move horses could the community come and start helping move horses? And within 5 minutes of making that post and showing that video I was flooded with phone calls," Musicaro said.
In just one hour, every horse on the property was moved to nearby farms. Some were taken to their other property, Kay's Acres, while others were sheltered by neighbors who offered space.
"A big one was Seahorse, right around the corner. They offered to get us one of their big fields so we were able to put over ten horses over there and then a lot of folks with the small private offered up their farms too," Musicaro said.
While the evacuation took just an hour, it took most of the next day to bring them all back home. The owners said the rescue would not have been possible without the community.
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