Palisades Fire: How the Will Rogers Ranch Horses Were Saved

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Despite losing her own home to the Palisades Fire, Cha Cha Jago is primarily concerned about the impact of this wildfire on the horses, horse workers, and riders at Jigsaw Farms, her equestrian business. Over the years, Jigsaw Farms has been operating as the concessionaire within Will Rogers State Historic Park, a site named after the famous cowboy star from Hollywood. Regrettably, the main ranch house and stables at this property have been devastated by the 23,000-acre blaze, which has left over 1,200 structures in ruins across much of Pacific Palisades and eastern Malibu.

Jennifer Jago shares with The Hollywood Reporter that following the fire breakout on January 7th, she and her team guided their 17 horses from the stables down to the park’s base, near the well-known polo field. “The horses were anxious due to the strong winds, which reached up to 80 miles per hour,” she explains. “By 4:30 in the afternoon, we had successfully led the last horse out, and by six o’clock, the entire park was engulfed in flames.” Jago further describes the harrowing event as reminiscent of Noah’s Ark. Notably, Jennifer Rogers, who oversees the Will Rogers Foundation that supports the park, comments that her great-grandfather would have certainly approved of their prioritization of saving the horses first: “He would have saved the horses before anything else,” she says, “as it was his top priority as well.

Initially, the herd was transferred to Sullivan Canyon, Brentwood. However, just a few hours later, it became clear that the backup location was also dangerous. Consequently, they were evacuated once more, alongside other horses from Sullivan Canyon (a total of 54). Since then, some of them have been using nebulizers due to ongoing air quality concerns. Meanwhile, others have been transported even farther away to Santa Ynez in Central California.

Jago’s business, currently grappling with an uncertain fate as all its barns, arenas, equipment, and cherished spaces were lost (according to a GoFundMe appeal), had been a regular destination for schools in the Los Angeles area on field trips. However, Jago points out that “many of our students have grown up in the Palisades.” Some of these children have already made connections with the horses in Burbank. “They’ve formed this strong bond,” she explains. “It’s almost therapeutic for them, and it might be one of the few things they still have. Their homes are destroyed, their school has been ravaged by fire. These horses and these children really rely on each other.

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2025-01-14 23:55