NFR Reunites Pets & People After California Wildfire
ASPCA responders helped more than 300 animals return home after a devastating wildfire broke out in Lower Lake, CA in August, 2016.
Just 24 hours after it began, the fire had destroyed much of the town of Lower Lake and was threatening nearby Clearwater. About 6,000 people and their pets were evacuated and Bill Davidson, Director of Lake County Animal Care and Control (LCACC), asked the ASPCA for help taking care of the displaced and rescued animals.
LCACC is no stranger to wildfires and the impact they have on a community. A year earlier, the Valley Fire ravaged the same area, killing four people and hundreds of animals. It was then that the ASPCA’s National Field Response (NFR) first showed up to help LCACC and the area’s residents.
The first day on the scene of the 2016 Clayton Fire was heart-wrenching as beloved pets were handed over by tearful owners who had to evacuate. At the same time, exhausted field teams pulled into the facility with distressed and injured animals rescued from the fire zone.
NFR responders cared for these displaced animals while fire crews got areas under control so people and pets could return to their homes, and over the next few days NFR helped to get over 300 animals back into their homes.