With flames rapidly approaching the five-acre facility, staff and volunteers at the SPCA of Solano County were literally in a race against time.
Videos by InspireMore
The Nelson Fire broke out in Vacaville, California, northeast of San Francisco, on Friday, and officials announced a last minute mandatory evacuation notice. As smoke billowed in the skies above, 67 animals waited anxiously as staff and volunteers scrambled to bring them to safety.
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Officer Carly Stone with the Vacaville Police Department captured the frenzied activity on her body cam, which shows her looping leashes around the dogs’ necks and loading three of them into her patrol car.
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“I had nowhere to put the dogs, they seemed to be happy to be with me, so we just went to work and started evacuating houses for a few hours until I could get them back into the SPCA,” she later said.
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Everyone regrouped in a nearby parking lot and issued a call for help to members of the community. They responded right away with donations of crates, food and bedding, and some even opened up their homes to these furry refugees until the dust settled and they could return to the SPCA.
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Look how close the fire got!
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The fire burned more than 2,100 acres before firefighters were able to contain it, but the SPCA was spared and all the animals have since returned. The evacuation turned out to be a blessing in disguise for a dozen or so of the animals. Some of the rescuers fell so in love they decided to adopt!
Including Officer Carly Stone who couldn’t let little Sean out of her sight!
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Meanwhile, staff and volunteers are still accepting donations of towels, blankets and money. The facility lost power for two days, and medications, including vaccines, had to be tossed and need to be replaced. To donate, click here.
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Watch Officer Stone and the other rescuers in action in the clip below, and share to spread thanks that all these animals’ lives were spared!
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