Prescott Valley, Arizona — “This isn’t just an animal problem, it’s actually a human problem because people can’t get out of their homes if they have nowhere to bring them,” says Abbie Herbicht. said Mr.

Harbicht is Vice President of a non-profit organization called LASER. On Tuesday, she gave ABC15 a tour of its sprawling Prescott Valley facility.

“There are 180 stalls here and you can have a lot of animals,” Harbicht said.

Big game shelters are preparing and disseminating information ahead of the Arizona wildfire season.

Many people are caught off-guard by a spark and flee their homes in a panic. In some cases, it also means taking the barn animals to safety.

“This stable can be used for pigs, goats, sheep, llamas, alpacas and horses,” said Harbicht, who was standing inside a large metal stable.

The facility has been in place since 2020 after supervisor Craig Brown led a Yavapai County effort to acquire the land in a land swap with the now-closed Arizona Downs Racecourse.

“The rodeo grounds weren’t available at a critical time of the year when there were wildfires and things like that,” Brown said. “So we decided to look for a more permanent place and found this place.”

The site is just east of the racetrack off Highway 89A and is a multi-acre area filled with steel cages for horses and other large animals formerly owned by the Arizona Downs.

So the county gave them land it owned just west of the racetrack and partnered with LASER to give the local community much-needed reassurance.

“Rather than a horse or a llama, you can pick up a dog, put it on a leash and easily take it somewhere and house it,” says Brown. “They all have special needs and different things they have to have.”

“When they went out of business, this became the perfect place for us to operate,” said LASER President Spike Hicks.

Hicks said hundreds of animals have been kept at the facility during evacuations since it opened.

“When wildfires break out so quickly, people panic and don’t know what to do,” Hicks said.

Kelly Zeller and her husband live in Walker, Arizona, about a 45-minute drive from Prescott.

For more than a decade, they’ve learned how to prepare for danger, but even they were unsure of where to shelter their newly acquired chickens during last year’s Crookes fire.

“It was a very short time to be ready and up and running. “We buy kennels and garage sales in case we need to transport all the chickens somewhere else.

The couple drove out, wondering if it would be there when they returned. They were safe, but they had no idea where they could potentially live.

‘We were in the parking lot wondering what to do when my neighbor noticed me and came out because a lot of people in the area buy eggs from me,’ Zeller said. rice field. “She knew about lasers. That moment was just a godsend. What are the chances?”

She said Lazer didn’t hesitate to take the animals in immediately, giving them hope when they needed it most.

“They have people 24/7, which was great,” Zeller said. “All the animals that took refuge there were very well taken care of, and there was even a small baby pool for ducks to swim around.”

All assistance is free, but we need a dedicated team of volunteers and donations to make it possible.

The organization recently won a $5,000 grant from the Arizona Community Foundation.

The funds are helping to expand and restock small poultry pen shelters. This is a place that left a lasting impression on people like Zeller who were in their most desperate times.

“It’s amazing how many people do such great things, but I don’t think too many people know and should know,” Zeller said.

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