LA area’s pets, and their owners, helped by progress in disaster response

Six weeks after the Los Angeles wildfires erupted, Chris Briffett was sifting through 10,000 volunteer applications. The director of volunteer services for Pasadena Humane, a nonprofit, is expected to bring on about 2,000 – giving the organization an “unprecedented” chance, he says, to respond to the community’s needs.

“It’s now kind of a new chapter in the shelter’s history to find places for them to help,” says Mr. Briffett.

When communities are devastated, people step up to help, often in ways that align with their own skills or interests. But in the past decade, more trained volunteers have been integrated with official disaster response, says Tricia Wachtendorf, co-director of the University of Delaware’s Disaster Research Center. The inclusion of volunteers in the government process of planning for emergencies, she adds, improves coordination in the midst of disaster.

Christine Quesada, director of volunteer programs for LA County's Department of Animal Care and Control, says volunteers were vital during the wildfire evacuations at LA Pierce College, which took in horses and other livestock. LA County’s Equine Response Team — volunteers trained to work with large animals — provided food and care; worked with organizations for donations of food and supplies; and cultivated relationships with owners.

Megan Silveira gave her cellphone number to every person sheltering livestock at Pierce so they could keep in touch. “I would want that if you had my animal, which I love like my child,” she says.

Ms. Silveira has been with the ERT for over 20 years. Animals have been a constant in her life, she explains, and caring for them is her way of returning their unconditional love.

Ali Martin/The Christian Science Monitor

Megan Silveira visits the equine science center at LA Pierce College. Ms. Silveira spent weeks at the site as a volunteer with LA County’s Equine Response Team, caring for large animals during the January wildfires.

During the January wildfires, the small staff at Pierce’s equine science center worked around the clock with about 20 volunteers a day, plus officers from the county’s Department of Animal Care and Control. After the first day, Pierce was at capacity with over 200 animals.

Some belonged to Sarah Kern. She arrived with six horses and two donkeys after watching the glow of flames spread across the oak-covered hills surrounding her home in Topanga. Ms. Kern knew the stakes; she and her family lost a home in the 2018 Woolsey Fire.

Their animals are a way of life, central to their daily activity and rhythms. With the horses and donkeys safe, she says, she could focus on caring for her family and protecting her property.

Ali Martin/The Christian Science Monitor

Sarah Kern visits her donkeys, Mulberry and Rosie, at her home in Topanga, part of the greater Los Angeles area. During the Palisades Fire, which charred trees and cactuses throughout her property, Ms. Kern took her donkeys and horses to the evacuation center at LA Pierce College.

“Yes, you’re supporting animals,” she says, “but you’re really supporting the people. ... They’re both important.”

Back at Pasadena Humane, Skinny Minnie is recovering from severe burns. She is one of nearly 170 animals still boarding here because of the fires.

Owners Mark Pastor and Lisa De Lange evacuated their home in Altadena and managed to grab their other two cats – Beauregard and Stella – but little else, with flames melting the back of Mr. Pastor’s car as he pulled out of the driveway.

Someone found Skinny Minnie in the burnt remains of their home and took her to the shelter, which posted her photo on its website, where it was discovered by Mr. Pastor. Either he or Ms. De Lange visit Skinny Minnie nearly every day.

Skinny Minnie’s care has been extensive, and it’s all covered by Pasadena Humane. When they told him, Mr. Pastor says, he “broke down.”

Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff

Volunteer Paula Yin sits on piles of dog food donated by the Greenies company for wildfire survivors’ pets at Pasadena Humane. The organization has been handing out donated pet food, toys, leashes, crates, and more to wildfire survivors.

Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff

A sign on the cage of a young black cat boarded at Pasadena Humane indicates that it belongs to someone who lost their home in the Eaton Fire. The organization took in about 500 pets right after the fires. There are about 170 still boarding, free of charge.

“It’s like they care as much about us and our feelings as they do about the animals that they’re treating,” says Mr. Pastor.

The volunteer surge has already empowered Pasadena Humane to expand its distribution of free animal supplies such as food, toys, and beds. It’s “new territory,” says Mr. Briffett, the organization’s director of volunteer services, but a “good problem to have.”

“We have a windfall of these volunteers,” he adds. “And so we’re now in the process where we can be really as creative as we want.”