Horses remain at Athens stable deemed unsafe after fatal fire

About 120 horses remained at a stable in unincorporated Athens on Monday that was deemed unsafe after a fire there last month killed four animals. Owners have been given until July 15 to find alternative boarding.

Horses are being moved off the property to comply with the new deadline, Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas said, noting that about 70 code violations have been documented at the stable over the years.

The cause of the June 17 fire, which killed three horses and a goat, was still under investigation, said Det. Enrique Valazquez of the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department’s arson squad.

“There is a lot to be done to conform to our expectations,” Ridley-Thomas said of the property, known as “The Hill” among local cowboys. “It’s the basic issue of public safety. Horse owners, children and animals cannot be in unsafe conditions.”

The stable’s owner has been ordered to bring the property up to code or evacuate it by the deadline. Yellow signs, still posted on the dilapidated stalls on Sunday, read: “Structures are unpermitted, structurally unsound and pose a fire and electrical hazard.”

Sheriff’s deputies, county animal control officers and firefighters will be on-site daily to monitor the eviction process.

Famous Manor, 42, of Inglewood said that “The Hill” has been home to his horses, Smoke and Pepper, for more than five years.

“It’d be a real tragedy if they closed this place,” he said. “Most of us can’t afford to keep our horses anywhere else. Most of us don’t have a lot of money.”

After the fire, county officials initially gave horse owners until June 27 to move their animals. When only about 10 horses were moved, owners were given an additional 24 hours, but few were able to meet that time frame. Firefighters and animal control officers then re-inspected the premises and extended the deadline after determining that most of the horses, away from the fire-damaged row off 132nd Street in South L.A., were well-kept and healthy.

[email protected]