Firefighters, crane pull trapped cow from rising creek

With the help of a crane, firefighters hoisted to safety a cow trapped in a rising creek northeast of the fairgrounds Thursday morning.

Clark County Fire & Rescue Division Chief Tim Dawdy said firefighters got a call around 11 a.m. from a local rancher, Gary Allen Brooks, who said one of his cows was stuck in a creek on his property.

“He had tried on his own to the get the cow out and couldn’t, so he called the fire district directly for help,” Dawdy said.

Two engine companies and two fire supervisors responded to 20407 N.E. 10th Ave., near Shorty’s Nursery, with ropes and elbow grease, but they couldn’t wrest the cow from the creek, which was rising in the pouring rain.

The district then called TLC Towing, which has been helpful in getting animals out of such tight spots in the past, Dawdy said.

TLC Towing employees and firefighters were able to get a harness around the cow and lift her from the creek with a crane.

When set down, the cow was too tired to move, Dawdy said. Using the crane, they walked it to a barn where someone fed it some apples and warmed it up.

“The farmer didn’t know how long that cow had been in that water,” Dawdy said. “But that cow, to me, looked pretty darn cold.”

The whole process lasted about an hour, said Dawdy, who credited TLC Towing for saving the cow’s day.