Horses rescued from rising flood waters

Two horses were rescued by firefighters and volunteers from the rapidly rising waters of Rocky Fork Creek off State Route 247 Tuesday. 

According to Marc Bayless, of Hillsboro Fire and Rescue, the Highland County Sheriff's Office had received phone calls reporting that the horses were penned in the area of rising water and were possibly in danger. 

"They couldn't get in touch with the property owner or the Humane Society, so they asked me to come down and take a look," Bayless said. "I started calling people trying to get bridles so we could get them out."  

Cars pulled off the side of the road in both directions, and people exited their vehicles to observe the situation.

Bayless said that several years ago, alpacas that were kept in the area were swept out into rising creek waters. 

State Route 247 was closed to traffic for a time, while the horses were pulled from the water and loaded into a waiting trailer. 

Several low-lying areas were flooded in Highland County Tuesday, including High water in the area of state Route 124 and Fettro Road. 

After heavy rains and early morning thunderstorms moved through southern Ohio, cooler temperatures are on the way. Tuesday night's low will be around 23. Wednesday will be partly sunny, with a high near 33 and a low around 25.