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Hurricane Wilma

Volunteers lead the water to horses

Since Wilma knocked out the power, it's been almost impossible to pump well water for thirsty horses.

SOUTHWEST RANCHES - A "Slow for Horses" sign greets visitors as they enter this small ranching community about a half-hour's drive from Miami.

Horses are a way of life here, so when the power is out, as it has been since Hurricane Wilma hit, it's a problem. Horses must drink several gallons of water a day - but the water is in wells and must be pumped out with electricity.

"I don't mind being without electricity. But the water?" said Janet Berrio, who with her husband, Jairo, owns six Paso Fino horses for breeding. "The water is what kills me."

Since Monday afternoon, about two dozen members of the Southwest Ranches Volunteer Fire-Rescue have been working to get water to horses that need it.

With brush trucks that hold 250 gallons and an engine that carries 750 gallons, they have served at least 30 ranches and more than 300 horses, said Lt. Tom Mroz.

"The mission is to take care of the horses. That's all we've been doing," Mroz said. "There's no communication. No power. People are flagging us down on the street."

That's how Angel Medina, 35, got their attention a few days ago. Medina owns 10 horses on a small ranch at the end of a dead-end street. Medina has a catering truck, and he gave the firefighters food and water before asking them if they could swing by his place for his horses.

"You can leave them without food for three weeks," Medina said. "If they don't have water, they're dead."

Though he has a well 200 feet deep, he can't get the water because his family has only a small generator. While the volunteers fill buckets and trash bins with water, Medina keeps busy feeding the animals and reminding his two children, Janelle, 12, and Brandon, 10, to get back to their chores.

With no telephone service in many areas, horse owners also leave pleas for assistance at a small trailer that serves as the fire department's headquarters.

"Help. Our horses are out of water," reads one note that was taped to the trailer. "Gate is unlocked. Water containers are on east side of house next to fence."

The headquarters has taken its own hit, with a supply trailer knocked on its side by Wilma's high winds.

The department is working on a shoestring. It's one of the only volunteer fire departments in Broward County and depends on goodwill from its neighbors to keep going, said fire Chief Richard Christensen.

Volunteers say the quickest way to people's hearts here is through their animals.

Florida Power & Light has said the power might not be completely back on in the area until Nov. 18.

"We don't know how long we're going to be doing this," Christensen said.

With that in mind, the chief spent Saturday picking up food and water from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to keep his crews fed.

The crews say they're in it for the long haul.

"We'll be back again tomorrow," Mroz said. "We'll do it as long as it takes."

[Last modified October 30, 2005, 01:12:10]