Written by Dawn Chmielewski and Lisa Richwine
PASADENA, Calif. (Reuters) – The pit bull mix arrived at Pasadena Humane covered in ash, his feet sore from walking on fire debris, his lungs choked with smoke. A good Samaritan found the dog lying in the rubble in Altadena, wrapped him in a blanket and brought him to the shelter.
Canela, still too weak to walk, was reunited with his owner on Saturday, thanks to CNN's coverage of the act of kindness. The injured pet continues to receive medical treatment and is one of more than 400 animals to have arrived at the Pasadena facility since the Southern California wildfires began last Tuesday.
Animal facilities, veterinarians and rescue organizations have received and assisted dogs, horses, donkeys, goats, sheep and other creatures displaced by the ongoing fires along with their human owners.
The Humane Society has begun accepting animals as temporary shelter as families evacuate their homes. But conditions evolved as the scope of the disaster widened, leaving 13 people dead, burning 39,000 acres (157.83 square kilometers) and forcing at least 153,000 people to leave their homes.
“We are now seeing more infected animals arriving,” said Dea DuVernette, president and CEO of Pasadena Humane. “We're also starting to see people who brought their animals into what we thought would be a temporary shelter, but they don't have homes to go back to, so it turns into a long-term shelter situation.”
Some animals bear the scars of ordeal, such as a husky that was badly burned and has singed fur and burned paws.
“No one came back to get him back,” said Humane Society chief veterinarian Dr. Maria Berdick, adding that the dog was showing signs of gradual recovery. “He didn't even look up when he came in. He was completely exhausted.”
Duvernet said the organization has entered a new phase of disaster response, search, rescue and recovery. Pasadena Humane is prioritizing calls to help live animals in burn areas — including eight injured peacocks.
One man in Altadena called the Humane Society for help delivering water to cows, sheep and a bull he couldn't reach because the fire destroyed a bridge.
“We strategized how to get a significant amount of water over this valley and up this hill, so that these animals wouldn't perish due to drought,” Duvernet said.
Throughout the crisis, DuVernet said the community has provided enough donations to fill five U-Haul trucks.
Shelter for horses and donkeys
In nearby Burbank, the Los Angeles Equestrian Center took in about 400 animals, mostly horses but also some donkeys. Some were brought in by landlords who had evacuated their homes and others by law enforcement who found them on the run.
the Eaton (NYSE:) A fire on the east side of Los Angeles has struck an area full of horse lovers.
“People have horses in their backyards in these neighborhoods. It's been an area full of horses for a long time,” said Lee Ann Claywell, general manager of the equestrian center. This is where the Hollywood Western was born, because of all the cowboys and ranches that existed in this area.
Some of the evacuated horses seemed nervous when they arrived in their new environment, “but overall, everyone seemed to have fallen into a routine,” Claywell said.
On Saturday, dozens of volunteers helped walk, feed the horses and clean the grounds. The center was filled with donations of apples and carrots for the animals and pizza and sandwiches for the humans. Smoke from the Palisades Fire was seen in the west and the Eaton Fire in the east.
At one point, all of the center's booths were full. Spaces opened as some evacuation orders were lifted and animal owners were able to retrieve their animals.
Carrie was a woman picking up two donkeys and two horses that she brought to the center when she had to evacuate her home at 3:45 a.m. on Wednesday.
“It was very scary, like a fire in the sky,” Saida said.
A woman borrowed a horse trailer from a neighbor and drove to a location near the Rose Bowl only to discover it was full. After finding a place for the horses Zibby and Sonny at the Burbank Equestrian Center, she returned with the donkeys Midge and Thelma.
On Saturday, one woman said she was grateful to the staff and volunteers and said her animals would likely miss their generous supply of treats.
“There is a lot of help and a lot of goodwill being exchanged,” his master said.
