Equine Emergency Evacuation of Yavapai County

We are fortunate In Yavapai County to have an all-volunteer not-for-profit called Equine Emergency Evacuation of Yavapai County (“EEE”), an organization that has been created to assist equine owners in the event of wildfire and other emergency situations, including help if COVID strikes. The co-founders are residents of Granite Oaks, north of Prescott. They coordinate with County Emergency Management (COAD) and receive permissions from the Sheriff’s Office Incident Command to cross roadblocks during major incidents to rescue animals. They can also assist with technical rescue of animals as needed. EEE also provides guidance and assistance for owners before, during and after their animals are evacuated.  To learn more, you can go to their website at www.eeeyc.org and visit their Facebook Group – www.facebook.com/groups/2737376419658374

Images Courtesy of EEE

Our objective is to provide flexible and responsive evacuations as circumstances dictate.

EEE does not have fixed sites for its operations.  It has over 25 designated staging areas around Yavapai County that can be used as a base of operations near (but not at) the site of the Incident Command for a particular wildfire, flood, etc.  For smaller incidents, EEE operates on a virtual basis with Dispatchers at home receiving calls on the EEE Emergency Hotline and directly to the locations where they are needed.  EEE also transports animals to various locations, including shelters, commercial stables and addresses that owners have pre-arranged with friends or relatives within the county.  If the distance is not within a reasonable distance, the animals can be temporarily held at the EEE Staging Area to be picked up.

The EEE Mission is to provide the best possible outcomes

 for large animals affected by disaster.

EEE has adapted and adopted the best practices from other large animal evacuation groups in The West.

We aim to minimize risk and liability; safety is paramount in everything we do. We are pleased at the generous involvement of the staging area owners and managers and are pleased with the number of volunteers who are veterinarians and horse trainers who have joined EEE. We appreciate our volunteers with law enforcement and emergency management experience, BUT YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE A RIDER OR OWN A TRUCK AND TRAILER OR BE A HORSE HANDLER TO HAVE AN IMPORTANT ROLE WITH EEE. During incidents, we will always need volunteers willing to be involved as Dispatchers, Communicators, and Staging Area Helpers. When no incident is occurring, we need Administrative, Training and Outreach volunteers.

Click here to DONATE to the Equine Emergency Evacuation (EEE)

Images Courtesy of EEE

In addition to evacuations, EEE provides owner awareness programs as well as incident preparation and planning materials.  Go to the ‘Are You Prepared?’ page at www.eeeyc.org.

EEE also offers:

• Ongoing training program for volunteers that includes mock drills.
• Targeted training on horse-handling topics such as loading and veterinary triage for horse-owning volunteers.
• Awareness Program presentations for the equine-owning public.

Images Courtesy of EEE

Jody Miller is a professional photographer specializing in Horse Photography, Equine Photography, and Equestrian photography.  Her work can be viewed online here in her gallery section, and she is also featured at these Arizona Galleries:    Van Gogh’s Ear Gallery on Whiskey Row in Prescott, AZ and Coops Coffee House at Talking Rock Ranch. Gift Shop at The Phippen Western Art Museum