SAN ANTONIO – Twenty privately owned horses were evacuated from the stables inside Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland due to massive flooding on Tuesday.
One of the horse owners, Christi Heilbronner, recalls the scary moments as water began to rise.
“Stillman Park was underwater. I couldn’t believe it. It was a raging river right across there. So it kept on coming up,” Heilbronner said.
Heilbronner, a veteran, was near the park at the horse stables inside JBSA-Lackland when heavy rain began to pound the area.
“The police came and they said, ‘Y’all need to evcuate now.’ And I looked behind me and the river was over the road,” she said.
Heilbronner said they loaded up the horses and brought them to the San Antonio Rose Palace located along Boerne Stage Road on the far Northwest Side.
“You can’t leave them to fend for themselves in a disaster like that,” Heilbronner said.
She said the horses have food, water and are safe now.
Heilbronner said if you take care of an animal, its always good to have an evacuation plan in place.
“In the flood of ’98, I forgot what stable it was, it was up on Pipe Creek, horses floated up to the top of their stalls. Some made it out. A lot of them didn’t. They found them up in the trees. And it’s just bad. You cannot leave animals,” Heilbronner said.
With possible showers later this week, Heilbronner said it’s still unclear when the horses will return to JBSA-Lackland.
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