PRESCOTT VALLEY, AZ — “It’s not just about the animals, it’s really about the people because if people don’t have a place to bring their animals, they’re not leaving home,” said Abby Harbicht.
Harbicht is the vice president of a nonprofit called LASER. On Tuesday, she gave ABC15 a tour of their sprawling Prescott Valley facility.
“There are 180 stalls here and that allows to house a lot of animals,” said Harbicht.
The large animal evacuation shelter is making preps and getting the word out ahead of Arizona's wildfire season.
Too many times, folks get caught off-guard when a fire sparks and are left scrambling to flee their homes. Sometimes that also means getting their barn animals to safety, too.
“We can use these stalls for pigs, goats, sheep, llamas, alpacas, equines,” said Harbicht, standing inside a large metal horse stall.
The facility has been in place since 2020 after supervisor Craig Brown led an effort by Yavapai County to acquire the property in a land swap with the now-shuttered Arizona Downs racetrack.
“The rodeo grounds were just not available at the critical times of the year when we had occurrences like wildfires,” said Brown. “So we decided to find a more permanent location and I found this location.”
That location is just east of the racetrack off Highway 89A, a multi-acre area filled with steel pens for horses and other large animals previously owned by Arizona Downs.
So the county traded them a piece of land they owned just west of the racetrack and partnered with LASER to give their local community some much-needed peace of mind.
“You can go and pick up your dog, put him on a leash, and take them somewhere very easily and get them housed, not with a horse, not with a llama,” said Brown. “They all have special needs and different things they have to have.”
“When they went out of business, this became a perfect spot for us to operate,” said LASER president Spike Hicks.
Hicks says since the facility went into action, hundreds of animals have been stored at the facility during evacuations.
“People are panicked, and they don’t know what to do when these wildfires pop up so quickly,” said Hicks.
Kelli Zeller and her husband live in Walker, Arizona — about a 45-minute drive from Prescott.
For more than 10 years they’ve learned how to prepare for the danger, but even they found themselves wondering where to evacuate newly acquired chickens during the Crooks Fire last year.
“By the time it was "set" and "go," it was a very short time period. We were just trying to gather the rest of our stuff up as fast as we could to get out,” said Zeller. “I’ve been purchasing dog kennels at garage sales just in case we need to transport all the chickens somewhere. So we put them in the kennels and loaded them in the truck.”
The couple drove from their homes, wondering if it would be there when they returned. While they were safe, they had no idea where they could potentially house the chickens.
“We’re in the parking lot and we were trying to figure things out and a neighbor of ours came out after recognizing me because a lot of people in the area would buy eggs from me,” said Zeller. “She is the one that knew about LASER. It was truly a godsend in that moment. What are the chances?”
She says LASER immediately took the animals in without hesitation, providing hope when they needed it most.
“They had people there 24-7. It was amazing,” said Zeller. “All the animals evacuated there are so cared for, they even had little baby pools for the ducks to swim around in.”
While all the help is free, it takes a team of dedicated volunteers and donations to make it possible.
The organization recently landed a $5,000 grant from the Arizona Community Foundation. It's money that has helped expand their shelter of smaller pens for poultry and replenish supplies. It’s a place that’s left a lasting impact on folks like Zeller in their most desperate hours.
“It’s amazing that you have so many people who do such great things and I think not a lot of people know and they should,” said Zeller.
For more information on LASER, click here.