THS Graduate Katerina Black Helps Rescue Horses In April 1 Fire

Editor’s Note: This story was written by Annika Plummer, administrative assistant for the agriculture department at Dickinson State University, where 2017 Trenton High School graduate Katerina Black is a student. She is the daughter of Kelli Griffith and David Black.

The town of Medora, ND, just 37 miles west of Dickinson, was threatened by a fire on Thursday, April 1, 2021. This was no April Fool’s joke. The fire burned an estimated 2,276 acres and came very close to the town of Medora. One of the Ag Department’s students, Katerina Black, was instrumental in saving horses that were in danger.
Katerina works for the Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation (TRMF) Riding Stables. On the day of the fire, she had just arrived in Medora at about 1:30 p.m. and noticed the smoke. She caught and saddled her personal horse, Zipper, while ash from the fire fell down on her. At the time, she was unsure of the fire’s severity but she wanted to be prepared. Katerina called a friend/co-worker to bring a trailer and help her prepare to rescue six TRMF horses in the path of the fire. The pasture the horses were in was below the Burning Hills Amphitheater and just down the road from the Chateau de Mores Interpretive Center.
At first, Katerina and her friend were on stand-by, waiting for notification to relocate the horses. It didn’t take long before the call came. The horses were in the path of the fire and needed to be moved to a safer location. Katerina and Zipper were doing their best to herd the horses into the catch pen, but due to the heavy smoke, the horses were riled up and wouldn’t go in. By this time, the fire was only about a quarter mile away. The best option was to open the gate and chase the horses out of the pasture toward the railroad tracks and safety. Katerina was the only person mounted on a horse; all of the other helpers were on foot trying to catch the horses.
The situation became tense when, right after the horses were approaching the Chateau de Mores Interpretive Center, some of the horses tried to run to their winter pasture. This winter pasture is just west of the interpretive center up the hill and behind the Medora cemetery. This was an area that was back burnt by firemen in an effort to keep the fire contained and not move closer to Medora. Thankfully, Katerina and Zipper were able to get around the horses and turn them toward a grassy area between the Medora pool and Little Missouri River.
It would have been nearly impossible to turn the horses on foot, especially since they were scared due to all the smoke. Fortunately, three of the horses were caught and loaded onto the trailer. The other three horses were scared and running, but with helpers on foot working to calm the horses and catch them, Katerina could turn her focus to another pressing issue.
Katerina’s other personal horse, a mare named Tally, was in a pasture behind the Medora Fire Hall. Katerina and Zipper headed to catch Tally and get her safely across the river. Turns out Zipper is the father to Tally, so father was helping daughter escape! The smoke was thick, but Katerina could see the flames in the valley across the road. Katerina and Zipper led Tally about a mile to the Ranch-o-Rama on the east side of Medora. Not long after Katerina moved Tally to safety, a spark from the main fire was carried in the wind and started a fire in that pasture.
There were other TRMF horses at Ranch-o-Rama, so with the addition of the six that were trailered over and Katerina’s two horses, there were 48 horses under Katerina’s care. With the horses in relative safety, Katerina turned her attention to getting back to her house in the Medora Campground. She needed to get some personal items as Medora was being evacuated. Once her personal items were secured, Katerina stayed at Ranch-o-Rama with the horses to ensure she was there if they needed to be relocated.
Angels must have been looking over Medora, because the fire was stopped due to the courageous efforts of the Medora Fire Department, National Guard Black Hawk helicopters, volunteer firefighters, and locals. The 250-300 acre TRMF winter pasture was 98% burned, and the fences were either burned down or are no longer structurally sound. Around 275 TRMF bales across from the Chateau Interpretive Center were saved. Even the two elk TRMF keeps for the Medora Musical were saved, though the fire burned right up to their pasture.
The DSU Department of Agriculture and Technical Studies is proud of the bravery Katerina and her horse Zipper showed during this devastating fire. Due to the combined efforts of Katerina and other volunteers, all of the horses were saved and uninjured. Katerina is very grateful for all the people who pitched in to help her save the horses.
Katerina will graduate in May 2021 with a B.S. in Agricultural Studies with an Integrated Ranch Management option.