When wildfire strikes, an army of animal lovers rushes to action
| Woodland Hills, Calif.
When weather forecasters in Southern California sent out an 鈥渆xtreme鈥� fire warning starting Tuesday night, Patricia Rendon did not wait for the flames to arrive.听
She called her longtime friend Pam Sakaida in Topanga, California, on whose property she is boarding her horse, Pepper. Given the forecast of hurricane-force gusts, and that the evacuation zone from the Getty fire in Los Angeles was moving toward Topanga, they decided to evacuate her gray mare. Same for Santana, Ms. Sakaida鈥檚 older horse, whom Pepper keeps company.听
鈥淚f you wait till it鈥檚 too late, you risk not only your life but theirs, and driving a trailer with shavings or flammables on it is like driving a bomb down the road if you鈥檙e going through flames,鈥� says Ms. Rendon. 鈥淵ou want to do it when you鈥檙e calm, so you can quietly load them on the trailer and quietly unload them.鈥澨�
Why We Wrote This
Wildfires threaten not just people and their homes. Animals, too, need refuge from the flames. Happily, for the horses 鈥� not to mention pigs, alpacas, and tortoises 鈥� a network of animal rescuers is ready to help.
By dinnertime on Tuesday, well before fierce winds whipped up a new fire near the Ronald Reagan听Presidential Library on Wednesday morning, the friends鈥� horses were settling in to the large and clean stalls here at the equestrian center at Los Angeles Pierce College in Woodland Hills. For years, the community college has opened its facilities to large and other farm animals during emergencies. Los Angeles County Animal Care and Control manages and funds the shelter during emergencies.
The mountains around Los Angeles are horse country, and like people, large animals need to be prepared for possible evacuation. But unlike their biped caregivers, they can鈥檛 be accommodated in school gymnasiums or church fellowship halls. And they are much harder to move in an emergency.
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 get these guys out in a hurry,鈥� says Ms. Rendon. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e panicking, they panic. They will feed off all that鈥檚 going through your hands, through your body, your voice, everything.鈥�
With fires burning up and down California, owners are taking their animals to special evacuation centers at county fairgrounds or facilities such as this one northwest of downtown LA. Pierce College has a 225-acre farm that can take up to 150 large animals, says Doreen Clay, the college鈥檚 public relations manager. The shelter filled up this week, but on Thursday, owners were contacted to pick up their animals. Evacuation orders had been lifted.
During emergencies, the college has taken in horses, cows, llamas, alpacas, giant tortoises, pigs, sheep, goats, and chickens. Cats and dogs go to the local animal shelter.听
It can be a peaceful place 鈥� until a mandatory evacuation. 鈥淭hen you see a ton of activity,鈥� says Ms. Clay. 鈥淭hen the county and the sheriffs will go out with big trailers. They鈥檒l round up horses.鈥�
An equestrian subculture also leaps into action. Volunteers with trailers near and far drive to afflicted areas, offering to help. They coordinate via social media, for instance, on the Southern California Equine Emergency Evacuation site on Facebook. With embers flying in smoky conditions at the scene,听they also coordinate the old-fashioned way, through hand-held radios.
Stacey Goldstein, who brought her miniature mule and red dun quarter horse to Pierce, recalls a friend听in last year鈥檚 destructive Woolsey fire.
Caught by surprise, the friend tied her horse to a rope, having it follow alongside as she drove her SUV听away from the flames. They eventually encountered a trailer full of horses that could squeeze in one more.听Ms. Goldstein was not taking any such chances, bringing in her animal family early, but she fretted because she was not able to coax her donkey, Sophie, to come.
Inside Barn No. 1 at Pierce, Santana is pacing his stall, whinnying 鈥� or calling. He鈥檚 anxious, says Yumi Sakaida, Pam鈥檚 daughter. This makes the Sakaidas doubly grateful for the professional care provided by volunteers at the barn, which they call their safe place. 鈥淚t鈥檚 great to have people here who know how to relax the animals,鈥� says Yumi 鈥� and put at ease the owners who bring them in.听
Those are people like Megan Silveira, a longtime volunteer who stays at the site 24/7 during emergencies, and Eric Cohen, who attended the college and now lives in the area. Mr. Cohen happily feeds, waters, hauls hay bales, and mucks stalls. But he says they can use more volunteers, who must be trained and certified by Los Angeles County Animal Care and Control.
As Ms. Goldstein heads home to check on her donkey, she asks Mr. Cohen the schedule for the evening.听
鈥淲e鈥檙e doing the turndown service at about 9 o鈥檆lock,鈥� he grins.听
No chocolates on the pillows, though.
Editor鈥檚 note: This story has been updated to correct the name of Stacey Goldstein鈥檚 donkey. It is Sophie.
