Horses evacuated before barn collapses

About 50 quarter horses that appear in Western shows were evacuated from a Gurnee-area barn less than three hours before it collapsed Friday.

Gurnee Fire Department Lt. John Skillman said authorities were summoned to Eppers Stable, just outside village limits at on Route 45 at Knowles Road for a potential barn collapse at 7:57 a.m.

Skillman said firefighters found the barn's roof sagging over the riding arena section. The horses were in stables on the barn's sides and away from the arena section, said Skillman, but the decision was made to evacuate the animals.

About 10:30 a.m., the last of the horses were taken to Field and Fences Equestrian Center on Hunt Club Road, just northwest of Gurnee Mills.

"They had more than enough stalls over there (at Field and Fences) and they're doing fine," Skillman said.

The barn collapsed about 1 p.m. Weak trusses combined with heavy snow on the roof to cause it to collapse over the riding arena, officials said.

Skillman said a flurry of telephone calls were made to find enough trailers in Lake County to evacuate the animals. Wadsworth-based Newport Township Fire Protection District assisted in finding the trailers through contacts in the equestrian community, he said.

Roughly a dozen horses were in the first group taken to Field and Fences. Skillman said there were enough trailers to evacuate the 30-plus remaining horses before the barn collapsed.

Field and Fences owner Anita Schadeck said the horses were doing well Friday afternoon. She said the animals appear in Western pleasure shows.

"As long as they have something to eat and are in a safe place, they are as happy as can be," Schadeck said.