![]() View Playlist: Video: Camp Fire blazes across Northern CaliforniaĪll of the animals she checked were in situations where they could shelter in place. “I don’t have any report on the injuries, but I’m sure they will become apparent,” volunteer Leah Critchfield warned a crew of animal medical volunteers from University of California-Davis who were on-site to help.įinch’s trip into the evacuation zone was largely a success. One volunteer flashed a to-do list for the group that included 69 horses, seven miniature horses, 25 goats, 10 sheep, two lambs, two ducks, two rabbits, one turkey, six chickens, two cows one pig and one turtle. They prefer to make sure animals have water, food and a secure enclosure with plenty of defensible space. But the volunteers always hope evacuation won’t be necessary. The trailers were to carry the animals if they needed evacuation. Their job was to track down homes where animals had been left behind. She and two other teams, everyone wearing mandatory Nomex clothing and carrying emergency fire shelters, headed into the evacuation area on Saturday with a list of assignments. “If you are the type of person who says ‘oh my gosh, something happened, I have to call my husband to find out what to do,’ we can’t have those people,” said Lori Finch, of Orland, the group’s evacuation leader.įinch works from behind the wheel of a lifted, 1996 F-250 4x4 with a police radio, horse trailer and food and water for distressed animals. The training is important because North Valley operates under a memorandum of understanding with Butte County which allows members to cross police barriers into evacuated areas to help animals left behind. More: Camp Fire: Paradise wildfire explodes, leads to evacuations, devastation The organization is unique in that it requires evacuation volunteers, the people who go into the field to help animals in disaster areas, to undergo rigorous training in fire safety, radio communication, evacuation training and the incident command system. ![]() ![]() ![]() That’s in addition to helping people who show up at three temporary rescue facilities with animals in need of shelter, some of which have been injured. Since the start of the fire they’ve fielded more than 3,000 phone calls with calls coming in at a rate of two to four per minute. With more than 6,400 homes destroyed, the Camp Fire is California’s worst-ever and nearly everyone in the mostly rural region is directly affected or knows someone who is.Īnd while the widespread devastation means many of the group’s estimated 200 volunteers are struggling with losses of their own, it also means the organization is busy. More: Camp Fire: Searching for victims in flattened town of Paradise “I’m still focused on getting everybody out and taken care of.” “I know my house is long gone,” said Trojanoski, a communications expert who helps the rescuers with their radio dispatch equipment. He loaded up his three dogs, two Malamute-Lab mixes and a German Shepherd, and headed to Oroville, Calif., where he volunteers for the North Valley Animal Disaster Group, a rescue organization. PARADISE - When California’s deadly Camp Fire ripped through Paradise 20-year resident Jon Trojanowski was among the thousands of suddenly homeless.īut for Trojanowsi, 45, there was no time to mourn.
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