(Santa Ana, CA) – At the December 16^th Board of Supervisors meeting, the Board unanimously approved the allocation of $75,000 from Supervisor Wagner’s Third Distrct discretionary funds to El Rodeo Rescue. This grant funds the new Orange County Animal Rescue Team (OCART). Under the Plan of Cooperation between the County of Orange and OCART, trained volunteers will be deployed to evacuate large animals during emergencies.

“In late 2023, the San Juan Capistrano Large Animal Rescue Team stopped providing resources countywide, creating a gap in a vital service for large animal evacuations,” said Supervisor Wagner. “Over the past several months, my office has worked closely with the Orange County equestrian community to establish a County-supported program with dedicated volunteers willing to assist during emergencies. I am delighted to offer this resource, providing owners of large animals peace of mind in the case an evacuation is ever needed.”

“I want to express my gratitude to Don Wagner for sticking with us and getting this job done,” said Bill Kolvstad, Founder of El Rodeo Rescue. “We’ve worked hard, we’ve had a lot of patience, but the work is really going to start now. I’m really excited that the citizens of Orange County that are horse owners can find trust in our organization when there is a disaster, we can be of great assistance to get them out of harm's way and let the firemen do their work and be able to take them to shelter. It’s an exciting day to know that the citizens of Orange County will have a team that will be competent to get the work done that’s needed.”

“I am very thankful to Supervisor Don Wagner for pushing this through and making sure it finally came to fruition,” said Sherry Panttaja, President of the Orange Park Association. “This is something we’ve been working on for many years, so that we can help all the neighborhoods throughout Orange County and make them feel like they’ve got somewhere to go to when there is a fire and be prepared.”

“I want to thank Supervisor Wagner for making this happen for us,” said Dee Dee Friedrich, President of Yorba Linda Country Riders. “We’re super excited about it. Now we have a program to get the horses and other large animals to safety.”

“It’s very important to make sure that the animals are taken care of and to get out early, and in order to do that, we needed to have a good team in place, and now we finally have one,” said Joanne Hubble, Canyon Community Representative. “Thanks to Don and his team, the hard work of Bill and Dee Dee, we got it done.”

The funds approved will cover costs related to insurance, training supplies, a rescue trailer, volunteer equipment, and other necessary materials. OCART will be a trained volunteer team dedicated to assisting with large animals during emergencies, especially wildfires throughout Orange County.

Supervisor Wagner’s top priority is the public safety of Orange County, and ensuring the equestrian and ranching communities have a robust, well-coordinated emergency response team is essential toward strengthening and improving the County’s disaster response capabilities.