1,800 pets evacuated by El Dorado County Animal Services, over 200 in South Lake Tahoe/Meyers

EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. - How do you move and care for 58 dogs, 127 cats, five rabbits, 27 birds, two turtles and four fish as flames are bearing down on a community that is evacuating? With a lot of planning, helpers and dedication.

As life for humans from the south shore community was disrupted and thrown into a mode of panic due to the Caldor Fire, those with animals were faced with even more complication - where do I go that will accept animals, or even how do I transport loved creatures in tanks and cages?

Many turned to El Dorado County Animal Services who helped evacuate not only the animals at their location, but helped evacuate the pets of those who could not take them out of South Lake Tahoe and Meyers.

“El Dorado County Animal Services was involved 24/7 over several weeks responding to the Caldor Fire and working closely with our agency partners and volunteers to evacuate and safeguard animals in need," said Henry Brzezinski, Chief of El Dorado County Animal Services. "Countywide, we assisted over 1800 animals, including dogs, cats, livestock and other animals due to the Caldor Fire. In South Lake Tahoe specifically, that number was approximately 200 animals."

All animals that were at the shelter prior to evacuation were transferred to Nevada Humane Society and Safe Haven Rescue in Nevada. An animal evacuation staging area was set up at Hard Rock Casino & Hotel once the evacuation orders went into place at the shelter in Christmas Valley. Animals that were evacuated at the request of the owners were first taken to the Hard Rock and then transported to the Douglas County Fairgrounds.

During the evacuation, not everyone took their pets to the staging area and instead took them directly by the animal owners to the fairgrounds. Volunteers and staff then worked nonstop at the temporary shelter, including those who spent the night like Wendy Jones of Tahoe PAWS (Community Animal Response Team).

"We are very thankful for our agency partners in El Dorado County and in the City of South Lake Tahoe, our neighboring counties and the state, our animal welfare partners, the many residents who heeded the evacuation warnings as early as possible, the community volunteers and others who coordinated with us on the safe evacuation and care of the animals. Everyone did an excellent job," added Brzezinski.

As evacuation orders were removed, people and animals started to repopulate South Lake Tahoe, Meyers and Christmas Valley, activity increased at the fairgrounds and pets and their humans were reunited, said Kimberly Lusby, Animal Services Officer for El Dorado County Animal Services in South Lake Tahoe. It took several days after orders were lifted to get all pets out of the fairgrounds and the few that weren't picked up were transported to the shelter in Lake Tahoe.

The transferred adoptable dogs that were not adopted out art returned to the Animal Shelter and will be up for adoption again there, said Lusby.

"We also want to specifically applaud and thank the many firefighters who worked so hard to battle this fire and for saving our shelter," said Brzezinski. "When the fire jumped over into Christmas Valley, we were very concerned that we might lose our Animal Shelter in South Lake Tahoe. The fire came within 25 feet of the shelter and is still standing today thanks to these dedicated men and women. We are very grateful!”

It took a team to take care of the animals during the evacuation. There were several outside jurisdictions assisting with the evacuation and transport of animals, sheltering animals in place, and patrolling for injured and stray animals, said Lusby. Those other agencies included Placer County Animal Services, San Diego Humane Society, Ventura County Animal Services, City of Los Angeles Animal Services and North Bay Animal services.

There were also several volunteer organizations assisting in the animal care at fairgrounds and Douglas County Animal Shelter besides Tahoe PAWS - Humane Society of Truckee-Tahoe, Animal Rescue Relay, American Humane Rescue.

'All of the assistance that was given was very much appreciated," said Lusby. "Having outside jurisdictions and volunteer groups offer assistance in disaster response moments such as this ensured that every request for assistance and every animal was properly cared for during the duration of the event."

El Dorado County is always looking for volunteers to help at the shelter with walking dogs or socializing cats. To volunteer with disaster moments like the Caldor Fire requires going through the process of becoming a volunteer prior to the event occurring. Please contact them 530-573-7925 (volunteers must be 18+ years old and get live-scanned}.

"We would be ecstatic to have more volunteers to assist us when needed," added Lusby.