KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As an afternoon fire near Interstate 470 and Raytown Road pushed north toward Bannister Road, owners of horses in the area packed up their animals to escape the rolling waves of smoke headed their way.
“All of a sudden, adrenaline was pumping and we were trying to figure out what the game plan was,” Tori O'Dell said. “It was just so nerve-wracking, but once we got here and everybody was unloaded and the last horse was off, it was like, ‘Ahhh, we’re okay.’”
O'Dell owns two horses that she boards just off Bannister Road. A fellow horse owner reached out to her offering a place for her horses to stay overnight as fire crews keep an eye on hot spots in the brush nearby.
Gail LaRock says she once had land full of horses but is down to only two of her retired team. Despite the circumstances, she is happy to have a full barn once again.
“We are really enjoying seeing all these horses on the property again,” LaRock said. “We’re a village. We take care of each other. People with horses need to know they can go somewhere.”
O'Dell is confident her horses are in good hands with LaRock.
“My heart is out there behind me. He is my everything,” O'Dell said. “I couldn’t imagine my life without him.”
Safe and sound Sunday night, LaRock says the horses are "going to have a slumber party in the barn."
The Kansas City, Missouri, Fire Department expects to be out near I-470 and Raytown Road late into the night monitoring hot spots as the wind continues to rip through the area.
