The first call came to Gerald Powell's cellphone Monday night as wildfires forced residents from their homes near Magnolia: Was there room for a horse at Waller County Fairgrounds?

Powell, president of the fair, looked at his wife, Cathy, and said, "We have to do this."

The couple spoke to the board of directors, which authorized opening the fairgrounds for four-legged evacuees and their owners, free of charge.

Pretty soon, the phone started ringing off the hook. News had spread by word of mouth and social media that there was a haven for pets and livestock off FM 359 South. As the week wore on, the fairgrounds took on an air of a carnival crossed with Noah's Ark.

"We have probably maybe 50 dogs, 20 to 30 cats, somewhere in there, two cows, a calf and a cow," Cathy Powell said. "The number of horses keeps going up and down because people are offering their pastures left and right. Right now about 40, and we've had as many as 60."

And don't forget Fat Girl, the 700-pound pig.

Dogs stay in the fairground's goat and lamb pens, a safe distance from the cats in the rabbit pens. The humans bed down near their animals, in cars, tents, campers or horse trailers. Everybody pitches in, cleaning the kitchen, distributing donations and feeding the animals. Local veterinarians drop by regularly to check on the animals.

"There's a company from Waller out here cooking," Cathy Powell said. "They're cooking a brisket for us for dinner. They cooked breakfast tacos for us for breakfast. That was a big hit."

She said people have been bringing in donations by the truckload: toiletries, clothes, diapers, shoes, toys, hay and feed for the animals, even cat litter.

"I'm telling you, it's unreal," she added. "I never would have imagined people doing this. But it's just what we do in Texas, isn't it? It's like a little family; everybody's saying good morning now, everybody's socializing."

Evacuating all

Helping one another keeps people's minds off the relentless flames threatening their homes.

The Powell family had to evacuate their own house this week with their show colt, four dogs and a cat. They're staying in a travel trailer on the fairgrounds with the rest of the evacuees, uncertain when they'll be able to return home, or if they'll even have a home when this is all over.

"My niece lost her house in Remington Forest," Cathy Powell said. "She said she feels like she's in a bad dream. She has kids, and she was just trying to pack up stuff quick. So sad."

Elizabeth Ledesma, 65, evacuated twice this week from her home off Rice Road with her stallion, D'Argo, and gelding, Big'un. She and a friend were having trouble getting the agitated 1,200-pound stallion into a trailer to evacuate the second time Wednesday when the police showed up. Ledesdma made it clear she wasn't leaving without D'Argo.

"I told the officers if I can't get the horse in here, you guys are going to have to take what you can and get out of here because I'm not going," Ledesma said. "They probably would have had to take me to jail because I was not going. That's how Texans are about their horses."

Police 'were awesome'

Working together, the officers managed to boost the stallion into the trailer.

"It looked like they almost picked him up and put him in," Ledesma said. "They were awesome."

Both horses have settled down in their temporary quarters at the fairgrounds. The first two nights, Ledesma slept in her car with the windows rolled down so she could hear if the horses were acting up.

"They're like my kids. They are," she said. "My kid's grown and gone, and my husband passed away, so I got animals. They're therapy. Animals are total therapy because if you're there, they're happy, and they depend on you, so that gives you something to focus on other than everything that's going on."

lindsay.wise@chron.com