Editor’s note: This article contains disturbing images.
A California family returned to their ranch Wednesday to find the devastating aftermath a wildfire left behind.
READ MORE: These images show just how intense the devastating California fires really are
The Creek fire, just one of several burning across California, ravaged the Padilla family’s land — and left 29 horses burned to death.
WATCH: Ongoing coverage of the California wildfires
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Victims of California wildfires return home to nothing
Patricia Padilla told the L.A. Times that the family was awakened in the middle of the night Tuesday as flames became visible. A fire crew told them they had to leave immediately.
“All I could think about was the horses, the horses, the horses. And they were like, ‘Get out, get out, get out,'” she said. “The structures can get rebuilt, but the lives of the horses can’t … That’s my biggest heartbreak.”
READ MORE: This is what California wildfires look like from the International Space Station
The family found nearly half of the horses, which they house for other owners, dead the next day. Photos taken by Getty Images show a grim scene: charred fences, bodies of animals, and smoke still lingering.
The wildfires have forced nearly 200,000 people from their homes, with many animals left fending for themselves.
Hundreds of elite thoroughbred racehorses sprinted away from flames Thursday as one of California’s major wildfires tore through a training centre in San Diego County. Not all made it.
There was no official count of how many animals were killed in the hazy confusion, but trainers at San Luis Rey Downs estimated that at least a dozen had died, possibly far more.
The Los Angeles Police Department, firefighters, and several animal rescue groups are working to save as many animals as possible from the infernos.
On Wednesday, the police department shared a photo of an officer carrying a cat.
“For some, it might just be a cat. But to others, it’s a friend, a loved one, a companion. The #LAPD has a motto, ‘To Protect and to Serve’.”
— With files from The Associated Press
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