OKANOGAN — Amid the chorus of “thank-you’s” offered to hundreds of out-of-state firefighters battling the Okanogan Complex Fire, you might hear a happy whinny or two.
Two weeks ago, an engine crew of Maine Forest Rangers working a fire line north of Omak found a “confused and wayward” horse wandering through a scorched area devoid of food and water.
The crew — Maine Engine Crew No. 6200 — had hot spots to extinguish, said Facebook postings, but compassion overruled necessity for at least a brief period. Long enough, anyway, to comfort a four-hooved friend in distress.
Ranger Wesley Hatch and crew members Brian Getchell and Michael Latti dug into their lunch pails for apples and used them to shepherd the spooked horse into an unburned, fenced area. They then found a discarded plastic box and filled it with drinking water from a tank on their engine.
Problem was, nobody was around to take responsibility for the horse. So Hatch left a note — tucked it behind of coil of barbed wire — that explained what they’d done. It was signed “Maine Forest Service.”
One ranger leader added a note to the crew’s Facebook posting: “The leadership of our organization could not be happier with our employees for what we see as a simple, but important, act of compassion. Well done, men.”
But wait … there’s more good news. Two days later, the rangers learned the horse had been reunited with its owners that very afternoon. “The horse was in good shape and NOT abandoned by its owners,” wrote the rangers. “Happy ending!”
Reach Mike Irwin at 509-665-1179 or [email protected]. Read his blog Everyday Business or follow him on Twitter at .
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