OROVILLE — For Paradise ridge residents, the devastating Camp Fire will never be forgotten. The Park Fire brought back all those memories.
Lori Auteri recalled the amount of stress she felt when she first heard about the evacuation notices following the spread of the Park Fire, which started last Wednesday.
Living with her 12-year-old granddaughter, Kylah Baker, and having a house full of beloved cats, dogs, chickens and goats, Auteri grew worried when thinking about the health and safety of her animals and family in Paradise.
“It impacted me, because I’m pretty much bedridden and having to climb out of bed, It’s just a lot,” Auteri said.
However, after being helped by the staffing at Camelot Equestrian Park, her worries turned into a reassured feeling knowing that her animals were taken care of.
Kylah also felt the fear and uncertainty of where her goats would be able to go. Describing them as great pets, she said her goats also helped her earn some cash via renting them out to people who needed their yards cleaned.
After eagerly waiting, the pair was able to pick up their three goats on Tuesday morning in Oroville. While reuniting with their goats made Auteri happy, she couldn’t help but recount the struggles of dealing with a wildfire in her town.
“We need another exit out of Paradise,” Auteri said.
Jennifer Branson, owner of a donkey named Jenny, was also concerned of where her animal could stay after the fire broke out.
“It was very scary,” Branson said.
With the help of a friend, Jenny was taken to the Camelot Equestrian Park. Branson picked her up on Tuesday morning thanking the “amazing, dedicated and wonderful” staff.
Camelot Equestrian Park ranch manager Johnny Vigil couldn’t be prouder of the facility’s role during this crisis. Camelot served as the large animal shelter for Park Fire evacuees. A Mechoopda tribal member, he expressed pride in both his tribe and the volunteers who came to offer their care.
“I would just like to say that it’s an honor for our tribe and for our people to be able to donate our land and use as a large animal rescue,” Vigil said.
With vast space, Vigil said the park included mammal hotels that could house around 60 horses, allowing the tribe to donate land to utilize for animal rescue. Alongside North Valley Animal Disaster Group, the tribe had an existing plan set in place to ensure a quick and easy set up for a shelter if a fire occurred.
“We definitely have the safest place in the valley. We have built in barriers. We have two water tenders. We have an abundance of tractors and everything like that,” Vigil said. “So we have all the resources and manpower that we need to make just the safest place in the valley.”
The California Veterinary Emergency Team has also been present. Created in 2021, it’s administered by UC Davis. CVET director Michael Ziccardi said helping the community gave the team a sense of fulfillment.
“UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine is happy to be assisting communities in crises such as this,” Ziccardi said. “We’re a statewide program now, so anywhere there is a disaster where domesticated animals and livestock are in need of veterinary care, we’ll be there.”
Nikolay Ostrovskiy, Butte County Public Health’s senior program manager in the Environmental Health Division, applauded the team effort of all the volunteers, including the tribe, NVADG and CVET.
“This property here in Camelot is something that is extremely important for this type of response,” Ostrovskiy said. “NVADG has a secondary agreement with the Mechoopda tribe with this property, and they are the ones that are able to staff and run the shelter for the duration of the disaster.”
Ostrovskiy foresees the possibility of several injured animals coming into the shelter, but said that at the start many weren’t.
“(I’m) really looking forward to seeing those hoards of warnings get reduced, removed and seeing animals getting reunified, hopefully get everybody home safely,” Ostrovskiy said.
After long shifts, volunteer Judi Bly-Magaw felt mixed emotions when seeing the animals returning to their owners. Her connection to animal shelter assistance started in 2018 after the Santa Rosa Fire.
“I love being able to be here,” Bly-Magaw said. When the people get evacuated they know we’re here, and they feel safe with us.”
Connecting and caring for the animals and their owners has been one of her biggest priorities during times like these.
“I like to see the relaxation in their face of the family members when they know their life is in chaos,” she said, “but that one little minute that they can come see their animal and know they’re safe.”
