We Took in Fire Evacuees!
This August was one for the books.
We took in fire evacuees and are prepping our emergency protocol. Read the latest run-down!
The week of August 16th was unforgettable. The Bay Area was hit with cyclone-like winds, which brought lightning storms and—believe it or not—rain! Those lightning storms, however, wreaked havoc, sparking several fires throughout the region.
Our awesome “rapid response team” local volunteers stood by to prepare the amenities: setting up water and food bowls, bedding, and a netting that would prevent them from flying out of our partially exposed barn.
While some sanctuaries scrambled together emergency plans, others were evacuating. One chicken rescue in the Santa Cruz mountains evacuated their 400-some birds to various shelters and sanctuaries across the region. The response on behalf of the sanctuaries that could lend a hand was immensely heartwarming and reminded us that this network is so supportive and well-organized; we have nothing to fear should that occur to us! Of course, we stepped in to help. That Wednesday night, we rushed to Animal Place’s Petaluma shelter, where they’d been busy all day rescuing animals from the fires. Due to overcrowding at the shelter, we happily took in 70 evacuees (plus, a few bonus birds that needed permanent homes).
During the whirlwind of it all, we noticed four geese sitting in a stall at Animal Place’s shelter. It turned out they were not evacuees from wildfires — they were from a separate neglect case in Fresno, and they came with 5 little chicks as well. As we fawned over the geese, talking about how they’d love to be in our pond, the caregivers asked us if we wanted to take the whole group. We said, “sure!” and now we have 5 lovely chicks and 4 geese.
The feathered evacuees, who stayed in Stall #6 and one half of the aviary, have finally been able to go home after two weeks, but we did get to keep 26 red ex-battery caged hens. A few have passed away — between the smoky air, and stress of transport, their fragile, over-worked bodies were ready to return to the earth. May they fly free.
The events of this year have shaken everybody wide awake. For us, that means we’ve needed to seriously evaluate our emergency preparedness plans. We hadn’t come up with anything organized since we started, so we’ve been in contact with Sonoma CART and various groups to help come up with the best plan of action in the event of a fire evacuation. Many people wonder how they can help during times of crisis. The best thing is to donate to the sanctuaries that have been damaged or have taken in evacuees, volunteer if possible, and shop our Amazon wishlist. Another way to help is to participate in upcoming online fundraisers: this Facebook fundraiser will be going toward multiple NorCal fire-impacted sanctuaries, and this online VegFest event hosted by SF Veg Society will help sanctuaries as well.
We hope you all stay safe, grounded, and prepared!
With compasión,
The Sanctuary Team