As the wildfires besieged Los Angeles, marauding through hillside suburbs at an impossibly fast and ferocious pace, 500 miles away Garrett Needles and the volunteers with the North Valley Animal Disaster Group started making plans.
As firefighters and emergency workers race to respond to disasters, local shelters and animal nonprofits also spring into action to board pets, treat those with burns or smoke injuries and find those trapped in burn areas.
Needles, the nonprofit’s executive director, who had recently retired as an assistant chief after 30 years working for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire), had a feeling their expertise would be needed.
Those who work with animals know that when flames tear through communities, sending families fleeing and leveling neighborhoods, they create a disaster for an untold number of animals.
Rescue workers have swung into action to board, feed and treat displaced animals – and find those who may be trapped.
