You just never know what turn of events life is going to throw your way.
About 12:30 pm yesterday we saw smoke, presumably from a grass fire. From the look of the smoke it appeared to be nearby. We thought about taking a drive down the road to see where it was but before we could do that we got a frantic phone call from Sharon Jones. The fire was near her house and they were being evacuated. They needed help now. Jann, Preston and I loaded carriers and crates in our trucks and headed off towards her house on Gladding Road. Jen and Courtney were soon on their way as well.
If it were up to the sheriff at the road block on Gladding Road we wouldn't have made it to Sharon's house but you just don't argue with FieldHaven on a mission. We got through. Courtney used the same "don't even try to stop me" tactic. By the time Jen came, she just waved her through.
It took us an hour or more to load up Sharon and Les's cats, dogs, chickens, birds and pigeons. By then the fire was only 20 feet from their door.
As we headed back to FieldHaven we called Wendy and asked her to "phone tree" volunteers. We would need help situating all the animals once we got to FieldHaven. A couple of people mistook the message and thought FieldHaven was being evacuated. No, we assured - them the fire was 5miles from FieldHaven - we were safe. Or, so we thought.
I was riding in with Jann and as we turned the corner in FieldHaven I was brought to tears by the number of cars and volunteers waiting to help us. These people had very little notice and they were there instantly. And, they kept arriving.
With so much help, Penny decided we should put the word out to the public that we could be a shelter for evacuated pets, including horses. We recieved several calls from people needing horses rescued from the fire zone. Several trucks and horse trailers were sent out to rescue those horses.
Shortly after they left the sky to the direct northwest of FieldHaven was looking very smokey.....and closer. I turned on the pasture irrigation and volunteers gathered carriers and crates in the unlikely event that we would need to evacuate. It's like listening the flight attendant say "in the unlikely event of a water landing.......", you think you need to go through the motions of what to do but you'd never really actually have to do it.....
Soon the fire was to the east of FieldHaven. And very close. We could see the flames heading for our neighbor's pasture.
Now, here's where it gets really crazy. A fire official came up to me and said we'd need to evacuate! At that point we had no trucks and trailers as they were all on the other side of town. By the time they made it back to FieldHaven they were followed by several other trucks and trailers.
In no time, the cats were crated and ready to be evacuated. Yes, almost every FieldHaven cat - cat trailer, habitat, Buster's Barn, Roontay, my house cats and some of the outside cats! (we knew the cats outside would be fine).
What an amazing site to see all of the trailers, cats in crates and many, many hands! And, many arms ready for giving reassuring hugs, too.
Fortunately, we never actually had to evacuate - the outstanding firefighters fought the flames back and the iminent danger was passed. But we kept all the cats crated until about 8 pm when a fire official came to tell us we absolutley safe, especially given the fact that all of FieldHaven is irrigated.
Some very cranky kitties were released from their crates and given an extra treat of canned food to smooth their shattered dignity at having been so hastily packed - and some of them paired up with other cats! How humiliating! The horses were fed and put to bed as well.
As we went to bed very late, the air was still smokey and we could see a large barn burning out of control about 2 ranches over. We woke up several times during the night to be sure FieldHaven was still safe.
Here are a couple of articles on the fire:
http://www.kcra.com/news/17366129/detail.html?rss=sac&psp=news
http://www.kcra.com/news/17361140/detail.html
I have much more to tell you about today - I'll post more blogs tonight. All of you fabulous volunteers and friends who were here yesterday please share your stories.
3 comments:
Here's Jann's post from last night:
To echo Joy’s email, you are sooooo awesome! When we came around the corner unto Ironwood Lane, the sight of the parking lot full with volunteers to help unload and find room for one of our volunteer’s animals, including cats, dogs, pigeons, & chickens, who had fled with flames literally licking out the back door, choked us up for the prompt response & unbelievable devotion to the animals.
The day got more “interesting” when we decided that since FieldHaven was not in any imminent danger of the Lincoln fire, and since we had such capable volunteers, we made ourselves available to help rescue other animals in peril. Within 2 minutes, the call came in that 12 (or so) horses were in desperate need of evacuation. Four horse trailers & several FieldHaven volunteers responded immediately. Upon arriving at the site on Wise Rd, we learned that those horses had been relocated to a safe irrigated field, but another group of about 12 horses needed evacuation right down the road. With the help of several other rigs that seemed to appear out of nowhere, we moved all the horses out of the thick smoke & burning hotspots that firefighters were actively fighting. After loading all of the horses, the owner decided that he wanted the horses left in a neighbor’s irrigated pasture. So we unloaded and headed down the road to the staging area to prepare for the next evacuation. We never imagined that FieldHaven/Ironwood/Virginiatown Rd. would be the next area to be evacuated, as the fire quickly shifted direction & roared off behind FieldHaven.
More volunteers had arrived at FieldHaven and all the animals and evacuees had been crated within minutes. A next door neighbor had brought his horses & goat to us as their property was on the fire line. Meanwhile the horsetrailers were not able to get back in because Virginiatown Rd was closed off, until a police escort could be procured. Several other area horsetrailers arrived to assist. After loading the horses, the fire passed on by, leaving very smokey conditions. After several hours of waiting to make sure that the fire would not circle back, and watching the air attack of the fire, a fire official came by to tell us that the fire was partially contained, and it was safe to uncrate animals, unload horses, and get everyone to “bed”, with a bedtime treat.
I am so impressed and proud and honored to be part of such a wonderful group of people. To watch you all in motion, operating like a well oiled machine, we cannot thank you enough for all you did. Thankfully, this turned into a disaster drill, but even if it had not, you all had it under control, with all of the animals in your very capable hands. I am so grateful and impressed by our firefighters, search and rescue personnel, and the police/sheriff department, who attacked the fire to quickly put it out-they are so fantastic. I’m sure there will be many more stories to share. Thank you so much, God bless you all and all of your animals, Jann
Here's an update from today.
Sharon and Les's house was fine although they lost some outbuildings. Today they moved all their "kids" back home - 4-footed and feathered alike.
Preston and I took a tour of the fire "route" and didn't get far when we found the 2 dogs on Virginatown that we all worry about without a home; their doghouses had burned. We pulled in to talk the residents about getting them a new dog house. I noticed that they had not water - not even an empty bowl. When I asked the residents about that they said they had no water - the fire burned right to their back door and all the water lines were burned.
Preston and I returned to FieldHaven and returned with 5 gallons of water and 2 small buckets. Those poor dogs drank and drank and drank.
We continued on our way and checked on the horses that the FieldHaven crew attempted to rescue yesterday but were told to leave them in a pasture. Later on the fire got too close to their pasture and we heard they turned the horses loose. We were relieved to learn today that they had all been rounded up.
I was deeply disturbed to see a house burned on McCourtney that I believed to have been Helen and Harley Hutchinson's home. Helen is often credited as the woman who was the cause of Jann and I starting FieldHaven.
When we returned home we went down Ironwood just past our arena and I was shocked to see how very close the fire came to FieldHaven - literally about 100 feet from the corner of the property near the arena!
Jen and Susie called Linda Hutchinson, Helen's step-daughter, to confirm that it was, indeed, Helen's house who had burned.
In the meantime, Susie called me with a message from someone on voice mail who needed help trapping some cats who were loose near a burned home. I had a bad feeling it was Helen's home and that was confirmed when I returned the call. Helen's friend, Annette, was in Roseville buying basic supplies for Helen and Harley - toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, underwear - as they had left the house in a huge hurry with nothing. I was devastated to confirm what Jen feared most - not all of Helen's cats were able to be rescued from the house and had perished. Including a litter of kittens Helen had rescued. Helen had begged the office to go in the house for the animals but they would not or could not (I don't know all the details). There were 5 cats and 2 dogs that had been released and help was needed to rescue them.
They thought the dogs may be at PCAS but I was able to confirm they weren't.
Helen had seen pawprints in the ashes this morning so she knew kitties had survived.
I headed out to Helen's place with traps. What complete devastation - everything but Helen's little Iris garden was incinerated. I saw the twisted, burnt cages that some of cats were in that she was able to release before leaving (she has some recently spayed/neutered cats she was working on socializing). There was one little trap that, miraculously, was intact. I set 3 traps and crossed my fingers that some kitties would be hungry enough to enter them.
A couple of hours later Annette called me. Helen had been out there and saw 2 of the cats but they were too freaked to come close enough for her to grab. There was some evidence of burns on their paws and noses.
Preston and I went back out just as it was getting dark to check the traps. No kitties. How eery it was walking through the ashes and rubble in the dark. The stench of smoke and burn is nauseating and burns my lungs and eyes. In the midst of it all is this sweet little Iris garden with benches and garden ornaments - all unharmed. I remember then that some of the iris in my garden was given to me by Helen.
Pray for these kitties to go into the traps and for the dogs to overcome their traumatic fear enough to come to Helen.
Also, pray for Helen and Harley. They have a difficult journey ahead of them. I just hope we can help them ease the pain a bit by finding their pets.
Joy
PS - here's a link to some pictures from yesterday:
http://albums.phanfare.com/5299533/2662528#imageID=45555118
This morning Helen saw one of her orange kitties. He came close enough for her to touch and nearly get in her clutches but he escaped. Helen said his nose and paws were burnt.
Helen was able to save their old dog and one of her old cats; they are both with them where they are staying. She told me that the last thing she did before they took her off the property was to open the cages that the semi-feral cats she was trying to socialize. They bolted off - hopefully far. She is heartbroken over the 2 kittens and one other cat that they were unable to get out of the house.
Jann and I set out 2 more traps for a total of 6. I hope these kitties come to the traps soon - it would be a huge boost for Helen to have her kitties with her.
The house is completely destroyed - they left with only the clothes on their back. I am going to publish a list of some of the things they need to the FieldHaven volunteer list tonight.
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