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ESTES PARK, Colo. (KDVR) — Thousands of people in Estes Park were placed under a mix of voluntary and mandatory evacuation orders Thursday as the East Troublesome Fire threatened to move toward the town.

“We had everything packed — the emergency kit and everything. We just waited for the police to say we had to evacuate,” said Samantha Fernandez.

Fernandez, like many others, came through Lyons on her way out of Estes Park. She says it took nearly three hours to travel the 20 miles due to the number of people trying to leave.

Volunteers from neighboring areas are offering help to this impacted community. Teaghan Weir is among a group working to help evacuate horses from the area.

“We had to do this just last Saturday, we had to evacuate all our own horses. There’s just a great community up here. We’re all trying to help each other out and see what we can get done,” said Weir.

Anyone needing help evacuating horses in the area is asked to reach out through their Facebook page.