Shelters Open To Help Animals Caught Up In Sand Fire

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — The Sand Fire has displaced thousands of people and animals as it's covered over 11,000 acres across the Southland.

Agua Dulce Airport, Wayside Jail in Castaic, and Pierce College in Woodland Hills are all offering shelter for animals afflicted by the fire.

Animals in the fire zone have been evacuated to several shelters, like the Wildlife Waystation in Sylmar.

Charlotte Alanizi showed up at the MonteVerde Ranch late Friday night to check on the her horse.

"We decided to stay because our horse gets a little stressed," Alanizi said.

The ranch is just outside the evacuation zone, so neighbors were dropping off animals all night long.

"We took in about 40 horses," Monte Verde Ranch owner Nicole Chase said.

Although MonteVerde Ranch has some extra horses because of the fire, they also have a lot of empty stalls as some owners didn't waste time coming to get their horses.

It was a massive team effort as volunteers lined up with trailers to evacuate more than 400 animals from the Wildlife Waystation.

"We're moving them to multiple locations right now, but it's a tall order," Jerry Brown from Wildlife Waystation said.

There are horses, billy goats, and exotic animals like lions, tigers, and even bears.

"It's painstakingly slow, because although anyone can drive, only a few vets and trainers can handle tigers, which need to be caged and sedated before being moved to nearby warehouses," Brown said.