A wildfire in southern California has put an exotic animal sanctuary in Phelan at risk, as well as all its inhabitants, which include a lion, tigers, bears and venomous snakes, among other species.
The Bridge Fire ignited near the Angeles National Forest on Sunday and has since grown to more than 51,000 acres. As of Thursday morning, it was zero percent contained. Flames have grown so severe that officials issued mandatory evacuation orders for about two dozen evacuation zones in San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties because of an “immediate threat to life.”
Several other zones are under warning status, meaning they should prepare to evacuate at a moment’s notice. The Forever Wild Exotic Animal Sanctuary is included in that list.
The Bridge Fire exploded from 2,995 acres to 46,727 acres in single day, racing up the San Gabriel Mountains toward the ski resort community of Wrightwood, on September 10 near Glendora, California. An exotic animal sanctuary in Phelan, California, is at risk as the flames grow.
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Kiah Almquist, the sanctuary’s manager, told Newsweek that smaller animals have been packaged in crates and are ready to evacuate should they be ordered to do so. The larger animals, however, are more difficult.
If the fire approaches the sanctuary, firefighters and staff would defend the property to try to save the large animals rather than attempt to evacuate them. The sanctuary houses anywhere from 250 to 300 animals. They are all rescue animals, which the sanctuary acquired from illegal owners, magic shows, roadside zoos or other operations nationwide.
The sanctuary has never been ordered to evacuate its animals, although a wildfire in 2016 got close to the property. At that time, firefighters set up at the sanctuary to defend it from the flames, Almquist said.
Smoke and ash are the biggest threats to the sanctuary, Almquist said.
“We don’t want any animals to inhale any of that,” she said.
All smaller animals are stationed indoors with donated air purifiers. Staff are continuously monitoring the big animals.
Almquist said the sanctuary needs monetary donations to provide supplies and ensure operations and directed donors to the sanctuary’s social media pages or website.
The most recent update from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) said that the Bridge Fire increased by more than 13,000 acres on Wednesday night.
“Despite the extreme fire behavior, lack of resources, and challenges firefighters faced, they successfully defended homes, and no communication towers went down,” the update said. “Firefighters held the lines they had west of Mount Baldy Road and continued to prioritize securing contingency lines to the south. By the public heeding evacuations, firefighters could get in and engage in the structure defense they needed.”
The fire remains under investigation.
