Many fire evacuees had to scramble to find their pets before they left the fire zone, but not everyone’s pets were able to make it to safety.
On Tuesday, Jill Clapp rushed to evacuate her home in Boulder Creek. “I threw like one change of clothes and medication and a couple toiletries in a bag, and mostly we were just like, ‘get the pets, get the pets’.”
She had to pack up her dog and seven cats. “We have five carriers because they never all have to leave at the same time, so yeah, we were strapping cats in picnic baskets.”
Clapp also has turtles, which she had to leave behind in their pond. Curtis Smith who lives in nearby Felton was also forced to leave behind his chickens with some extra food and water.
“I basically let them go in the yard with extra food and water but that’s not going to last long… two days maybe three.”
Once people evacuate their homes, they are not allowed back until fire officials determine that the area is safe. That could last a few days or a few weeks, which is why Smith said the chickens are his number one concern. “That they’ll get burnt up or they’ll die from starvation.”
“Maybe somebody wants to come back into an evacuation zone because maybe they forgot a pet… I know people are concerned,” said Chris Clark with the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office.
So to prevent people from throwing themselves in the path of danger, the Sheriff’s Office is working with Animal Control to round up any pets that may have been left behind.
“What we can do is we can potentially assist Animal Control in going up and doing a rescue on a pet,” said Clark.
Pet parents can contact Animal Control at 831-471-1182 to request a possible rescue.
