LOS ANGELES — Arianna Buturovic, who operates a rescue shelter for animals outside of Los Angeles, found herself in distress as a wildfire approached. With smoke billowing in the distance, she quickly gathered 15 dogs and two cats into her black Prius. However, there were still nine more dogs and a pig that needed to be evacuated. Luckily, she managed to flag down a couple of teenagers with a truck who volunteered to help transport the animals to a nearby shelter. Although she couldn’t take her two ponies, she left their corral open so they had a chance to escape if necessary. “That’s how we evacuated almost 30 animals,” she recalled, adding, “It was crazy.”
Buturovic’s experience is not unique, as many animal owners in Los Angeles scrambled to evacuate their pets amidst fast-spreading wildfires that have claimed the lives of 11 people and destroyed over 12,000 homes. Shelters have become overwhelmed, prompting their leaders to urge people to find friends or relatives who can foster their pets during this crisis.
Wendy Winter and her husband realized the urgency of the situation on Tuesday evening and hastily purchased cat carriers for their cats Purry Mason and Jerry. Just two hours later, they were forced to evacuate. By the next morning, they learned that their home of more than seven years had been completely destroyed, along with their entire street. “There’s fear and loss and you just don’t even know,” Winter expressed, acknowledging the profound shock of their situation. They’re now hoping to find friends willing to foster their cats for two months as they figure out their next steps. The couple is concerned about providing a secure environment for their pets during this turbulent time.
Some pet owners were left with no choice but to take their animals to shelters because they couldn’t evacuate with them. The Pasadena Humane Society reported taking in 250 animals within the first day of the fires, while Los Angeles County Animal Care managed 97 animals, which included not only cats and dogs but also pigs, turtles, birds, and even a snake, according to a department spokesperson.
Dr. Annie Harvilicz, a veterinarian, had been in the process of relocating from an old Animal Wellness Center office when her brother’s situation prompted her to transform her exam, X-ray, and surgery rooms into a temporary shelter. She quickly welcomed 41 dogs, cats, and a bunny, managing to find foster homes for all except two. Though she anticipated a flood of requests for animal refuge, she was pleasantly surprised by the many offers from people wanting to help.
“I’m very proud of the people in Los Angeles and how they’ve stepped up to help one another,” she commented. Despite requests from some people to take their donkeys, Harvilicz was unable to secure a trailer in time for larger animals, which she emphasized put them at a higher risk from the fires.
Julia Bagan, part of a Facebook group focused on emergency equine evacuation, encountered a dire situation in Altadena when she discovered five horses trapped in their stalls one day after the fire had spread. The horses were huddled in a small exterior pen but could not escape the oncoming flames. By the time a neighbor sought assistance and firefighters used bolt cutters to free them, one horse had sustained severe injuries. Bagan courageously navigated through the fire’s aftermath to rescue them, encountering sparks from downed power lines overhead. She described the harrowing experience as “the most crazy, dangerous” evacuation she had ever undertaken, noting that nearly all nearby homes were destroyed.
One of the rescued horses, a 3-year-old black mare whom she named Flicka after the film, had suffered burns and other injuries, leading a veterinarian to assess her chances of survival as only 50-50. “She just had no chance, getting left locked in a stall and her owners evacuating and just leaving them all there,” Bagan said, lamenting the fate of the horse.
Conversely, some horse owners were proactive. Meredith McKenzie, having received a warning about the escalating fire risk, organized a group at her barn to evacuate her horse while simultaneously caring for her sister with Alzheimer’s. “Horse people are not ignorant to the threat of fire. We’re out before it starts because once that smoke comes, the horses lose control,” McKenzie explained. Although the ranch where her horses were kept ultimately burned down, she was grateful for another ranch offering to replace her lost tack.
Suzanne Cassel evacuated with her two horses, a donkey named Oscar Nelson, four dogs, and two cats, rushing to secure a spot at a large animal emergency shelter at Pierce College in Woodland Hills. While her horses are together at the shelter, her dogs and cats are housed in the horse trailer. Unfortunately, her donkey showed signs of distress from being alone, prompting Cassel to sit in the stall with him for some time, providing comfort as herd animals typically require companionship.
Buturovic, after evacuating some dogs to Harvilicz’s former clinic and placing others at a friend’s home, returned to find that her ranch had been completely consumed by fire. The cement building, which had withstood other fires previously, was now reduced to rubble with its roof gone and windows shattered. Tragically, her ponies and two semi-feral dogs that she had cared for were also missing. With her organization, Philozoia, dedicated to rescuing animals from high-kill shelters, she is now seeking support to rebuild.
“I don’t know where we’re going to go from here,” Buturovic reflected on the uncertain future ahead.
