Police took part in the rescue of 60 animals from a shelter under threat from a fire in California on Saturday.
In body camera footage released by Vacaville Police Department, officers can be seen running to and from the Solano County SPCA building, collecting animals from their cages.
Smoke from the fire looms in the background as the fire threatens to set the shelter on fire.
PD fights the clock as the Nelson Fire races towards the Solano SPCAAs the Nelson Fire raced towards the south end of town, it looked like the Solano SPCA would be the first to be hit by the flames. Our officers worked with Humane Animal Services, SPCA staff and volunteers to evacuate all they could in a race against the clock.**Additionally, here is information directly from SPCA Solano's official page:We wanted to give a quick update and thank everyone for their support. We understand that many people are under the impression that we left a volunteer and cats behind last night in the fire. We were forced to evacuate under extremely short notice. Vacaville Police Department was gracious enough to fit as many animals as they could in their vehicles to help us. Unfortunately we were under the impression that all animals were out and safe when we evacuated. We found out later that there had been a few cats still in the cat building. However, fire crews were stationed on our property, outside that building, ready to protect it. The volunteer that was in there went in illegally and crossed the fire line without anyone knowing after we had been out for quite a while. We would never leave a person behind. If we knew he was in there, we would have called to inform first responders to get him out! Once it was deemed safe, shortly after we found out a volunteer was there, two of our staff members were able to be escorted in by the police department to get the remainder of the animals out. All animals are safe in foster homes at this time. Unfortunately we do not have power or water at this time but all 60 of our animals are safe in foster homes for the time being. We are hoping to get in there tomorrow to clean up the ash and debris inside our kennel building and around the property. We thank you all so much for your donations, love, support, and concerns. The Vacaville community has been so gracious to open their homes and hearts for us. If you have pictures from last night feel free to post them on our page.If you are still looking to donate, we will keep you posted as for when we will be able to accept them. Only two staff members were able to go in today and get an idea of where we are at. Fire crews were still working today putting out hot spots and we are grateful for their hard work. We are extremely lucky and thankful to the fire departments and police departments who were on site last night and on the front lines. Thank you!Media inquiries can be directed to Lt. Mark Donaldson @ (707) 449-5260.Posted by Vacaville Police Department on Sunday, August 12, 2018
Luckily all 60 cats and dogs were saved by volunteers and police and taken into the care of generous locals. More people provided crates to move the animals and boxes of food to feed them.
The California fire service said the Nelson fire has been brought under control after burning through more than 2,000 acres of land and destroying one property. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
*** Update***Sunday August 12. We want to say thank you to everyone that donated supplies, time, and financial…Posted by SPCA of Solano County on Sunday, August 12, 2018
Thanks to the efforts of the local fire department, the wildfire did not damage the shelter in the end, and volunteers are in the process of cleaning up and preparing for the animals to move back in.
