Sylvan Dale horses on mend after Alexander Mountain Fire evacuation injuries

A pair of horses evacuated from the Alexander Mountain Fire on Monday are on the mend thanks to volunteers who assisted in their rescue and donors who are helping with their medical costs and rehabilitation.

The horses — a paint horse named Hawke and palomino named Bo — were being taken off the Sylvan Dale Guest Ranch in a side-by-side trailer Monday when the trailer's floorboards broke, causing injuries to both horses' hind legs, according to local cattle rancher Josh Ciardullo, who helped with the evacuation of the guest ranch's 90 horses Monday afternoon.

Josh and other people assisting with the evacuation efforts were able to get the horses out of the trailer before a veterinarian arrived to triage their injuries and transport them to the Colorado State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital, where Josh said they remained Thursday.

Live updates: Cause of Alexander Mountain Fire 'under investigation'

Before I could ask more about the horses' conditions, Josh's wife, Erica Ciardullo, grabbed the phone.

"I need to say this because he won't," Erica said. "(Josh) was a firefighter paramedic for 20 years ... he saved their lives. He got underneath the trailer and was able to get the whole scene under control."

"There were a handful of good people (there helping)," Josh protested. "It was a team effort."

The effort still isn't over, however, with both horses looking at surgery and long roads to recovery, with veterinary bills estimated at around $30,000 and $15,000, respectively, Josh said. The CSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital does not comment on patients without owner consent, College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences Communications Director Kris Browning-Blas said Wednesday.

Live updates: Cause of Alexander Mountain Fire 'under investigation'

A guest of the ranch has stepped up to help with some of the horse's medical costs, and Fort Collins' HeartSong Pastures has volunteered to rehabilitate them for free, Josh said. To help cover the remaining costs, Josh started a GoFundMe campaign, which had brought in almost $25,000 as of 8:30 a.m. Thursday.

The Alexander Mountain Fire grew from around 5,000 acres late Tuesday to an estimated 7,648 acres, with 1% containment as of 7 p.m. Wednesday. It is expected to be "a several week event, even potentially a month or two," Gov. Jared Polis said during a Wednesday news conference at Loveland Fire Station 7. The cause of the fire remains under investigation, the U.S. Forest Service said Wednesday.

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Coloradoan reporters Sady Swanson and Kelly Lyell and editor Sarah Kyle contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Sylvan Dale horses on mend after Alexander Mountain Fire evacuation injuries