VIDEO: Monday afternoon, a fire that started in a grass field near the Oregon Horse Center in Eugene off Prairie Road spread to wood pallets leaving dozens of horses and their handlers in a panicked rescue to try and keep them safe. Nearby workers and owners worked together to evacuate the horses to another barn on the property. “It was about 15 minutes of pure panic because the horses were freaked out and some were running loose, and a lot of the horses didn’t know the people that came to handle them, and they were freaked out because the barns were filling with smoke,” said Oregon Horse Center’s Genevieve Stutesman. A “horse’s worst nightmare” is how one handler described the situation to our reporter. Multiple agencies responded to the fire, which is now under control.
