Burro That Sought Refuge with Willow Fire Crews Returns Home

The domestic donkey that emerged from a burning forest and sought refuge behind firefighters has been reunited with its owner after evacuations forced the owner to leave the burro behind.

Desert Hills Fire Department Chief Bill Weber and roughly 10 other firefighters were protecting a house in Mohave Valley on Saturday during the Willow Fire when the frightened donkey came out of the brush and stood by their side.

The donkey, three horses, and a second donkey were reunited with owner John White on Tuesday morning.

At the scene of the fire near Bullhead City, the donkey joined crews about an hour after they responded and remained with them until they were redeployed about four hours later.

"They had this donkey follow them like a little puppy right behind them," Weber said. "He was well-behaved. He didn't cause any problems. He was scared and was just clinging right by the sides of the firemen."

The unusual equine encounter was unlike anything Weber had seen.

From inside his command vehicle, he snapped a picture of the donkey and sent it to his neighbor, who posted it to Facebook. More than 73,000 users had either liked or shared the photo by Wednesday afternoon.

The American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Preservation), an activist group also involved in saving the Salt River horses, was trying to contact White, who lives in Lake Havasu City, for a follow-up.

Suzanne Roy, a spokeswoman for the campaign, said the organization wanted to ensure the burro was receiving proper hoof care, because one of the photos showed an apparently overgrown and curled back left hoof.

Firefighters were dispatched to the area to prevent the 6,000-acre Willow Fire, which began Saturday morning, from spreading to a rural neighborhood. The blaze, which was burning northwest of Lake Havasu, was 75 percent contained Wednesday morning.

Originally Posted By AZ Central