FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

The VICE Guide to Right Now

Watch Cops Rescue 60 Shelter Dogs and Cats in a Wildfire's Path

The SPCA facility is still struggling in the aftermath of the blaze.
Still via Vacaville Police Department

More than 60 very good boys and girls were rescued from an animal shelter last Friday after a wildfire broke out in Vacaville, California, and appeared to be on direct path to hit an SPCA facility, a dramatic evacuation by police that was captured in body cam footage released early this week.

The footage shows local cops in a mad dash to save animal lives—dogs were quickly leashed and led to cop cars, while kittens were being crated by the handful. Local police moved at a frantic pace and were able to fit lots of cats and dogs into their squad cars. Nearly all of the animals were evacuated, though a few cats could not be taken in time, according to SF Gate. Luckily, the shelter survived the fire threat, and the cats were later rescued as soon as the building could be re-entered.

Advertisement

Following the evacuation, the Solano County SPCA released a statement on its Facebook page, noting that staff were forced to "evacuate under extremely short notice" and that all 60 animals are currently under foster care. But though the critters are safe, the shelter is still contending with the aftermath of the fire. Due to the power outage, the shelter reportedly lost a number of refrigerated medicines and vaccinations, and towels and bedding have been saturated with smoke and are unusable. That's led to a wave of donations of food and crates, but the SPCA is currently still soliciting financial donations, as well as bedding and cleaning supplies.

At a time when flames are consuming a pretty big chunk of California—the Mendocino Complex fire has engulfed more than 300,000 acres by itself—it's nice to know that at least these dogs and cats are not on fire.

Sign up for our newsletter to get the best of VICE delivered to your inbox daily.

Follow Nicole Clark on Twitter.