Final Report on California Wolf Center Survives Wildfire

The following is the official summary of the events relating to fires threatening the California Wolf Center, October 28^th 2003.

Summary. First, every wolf was saved from a deadly fire due to the efforts of our volunteers heroes who fought flames and risked their lives into the night. Further, our fire defense plan, modified to fight this fire, was executed with great success. Our goal was to save all wolves, all personnel and the Center facilities. We developed a worst case scenario, the worst case happened and we were still successful.

Background. Fires broke out in the Ramona area of San Diego County (about 25 miles west of the Center) on Saturday night, October 25^th. By Sunday night there were fires forming in the east county mountain areas much closer to Julian and the Wolf Center. On Monday, these local fires began to rage out of control. As the situation became increasingly serious, Wolf Center volunteers poured into the facility, bringing badly needed equipment and supplies. Many of the volunteer staff stayed on Monday, providing fire and security watches throughout the night.

Fire crews were stretched too thin to help the Center. We were informed Tuesday that there was little likelihood that any fire crews would be dispatched to help us. 12 volunteers stayed onsite Monday and Tuesday, with seven of those volunteers choosing to remain at the Center into Tuesday night, when the fire became immanent.

Earlier Tuesday, as part of our enhanced plan for this fire, Facilities Manager James McCoy and volunteer staff utilized a large tractor to widen existing fire breaks around the Center and all enclosures and cut additional breaks across the northern boundary properties. Decisions to knock down trees proved valuable on the post-fire inspection. All volunteers on site assisted.

Fire Approaches Tuesday Night. Seven volunteers remained onsite as the fire made its initial approach. A heavy layer of wind- driven smoke preceded the fire, significantly reducing visibility. Fire came over the western hill to our south between 10:00-10:30 p.m. on Tuesday night. The fire spread across a large portion of the horizon. Heat could be felt a quarter of a mile from the flames. Flames appeared to range from 50 to 100 feet, generating a snow-like shower of embers increasing the hazard by dispersing fire up to 100 yards in front of the flames themselves, creating new fires forward of the line. These embers also showered staff members, lighting fires behind us, but still south of the enclosures. By midnight the fire made its way through the property to our south, briefly entering the Center’s property, touching our southern enclosure fence lines along the ground.

Final Defense. Bill Hurd, a retired fireman, was assisting the Center Monday and Tuesday, creating additional fire breaks. Once it was apparent the fire was approaching, Hurd joined McCoy to lead the fire defense effort. Hurd and McCoy’s plan was to secure a defensive position for people and vehicles to “safely” fight the fire, and then protect the wolf enclosures. (Similar to flight attendant’s instructions to secure your oxygen mask first and then your child’s). Volunteers staged their vehicles just south of the enclosures inside the defensive position, with emergency supplies and an exit route down canyon to the desert floor, in the event that remaining on the property became untenable.

As the intensity of the fire grew, some volunteers moved to a position of safety down canyon, while McCoy and Hurd, using a water truck and a tractor, stayed with their defensive perimeter. The firebreaks cleared by the volunteers kept flames from entering the enclosures, giving McCoy and Hurd time to defend. Hurd made continuous runs with the water truck around affected enclosure areas, keeping water on the fence line to reduce additional fires from the showering embers.

The valiant efforts by Hurd and McCoy, and all of our volunteers in the face of deadly flames, heat and smoke, diverted the fire east and south away from enclosures.

At 1:30 am, a quick inspection revealed that the major portion of the fire had passed with a small amount of burning near enclosures. Although the area was still in danger, the defense efforts were initially successful.

Hurd, after staying up all night, confirmed at first light that all wolves were alive and that most structures were not affected. Hurd stayed with the wolves for the next 48 hours until the Sheriff permitted a relief staff to enter the area. Animal health technicians were permitted to re-enter the facility Thursday morning to inspect all wolves, confirming Hurd’s assessment.

A Team of Heroes. Hurd, McCoy, and the entire staff of our volunteers, are heroes. In addition, volunteers that were offsite during the fire kept communication and supply lines open. The team worked hard the day of the fire to prepare, and stayed into the night executing our plan. The wolves and the Center survived a treacherous and life threatening fire because of our staff and volunteers’ courage in the face of extreme danger.

NOTE: We received many phone calls during the fire asking if we needed assistance. We greatly appreciate the concern and support. Our telephone service went down on Tuesday morning and many calls went to voice mail. We will be providing a FAQ section on our web page to help people understand our process for dealing with a fire.

All wolves at the California Wolf Center survived the 2003 Julian fires. However the Center did lose a critical food storage structure and sustained tremendous smoke damage. We do not have power from the electric company grid, rather we are operating on a generator and we likely will not have phone service for a few months. Two volunteers lost their homes and many cannot return to their homes and will be living at the Center for a few days.

We realize that many families in San Diego County lost their homes and some lost their lives. We are grateful that our wolves are safe and our damages are specific and limited. As always, your contributions in cash or in kind are greatly appreciated.

Wolf Health Review. (In addition to already planned spending)	We do not anticipate any negative impacts on the wolves from this fire; however we are going to review each wolf’s health in the coming weeks.	$1,200
Food Storage Structure	Our freezer building was destroyed. This building housed 3-4 freezers for food storage. The $$ amount includes freezers and construction of a building.	$15,000
Smoke Damage	The Center was damaged by smoke and falling ash and debris. Carpets will need to be replaced along with certain window coverings and some painting inside and outside.	$8,500
Cleaning	Initial professional cleaning needs to be completed as soon as possible to reduce airborne particle hazards.	$1,000
Lost Wolf Food (repurchase value)	We lost food when the food storage building was destroyed.	$950
Lost Program Revenue	The center will be closed for two to three weeks at a minimum due to cleaning and repairs. Roads in the area may remain closed as (cont’d) well.	$3,750
Fence damage	We lost vegetation and fencing along visitor trails. We need to replace the lost vegetation with either the same or natural fencing.	$1,350
Telephone Service	The Center will likely be without telephone service up to a few months (according to the local telephone company). We will add two cellular phones. We may also receive a Satellite telephone on loan as well.	$750 (low, estimate only)
Miscellaneous	This category includes repayment of borrowed supplies from neighbors, smoke damage to volunteer vehicles, additional fuel needed to power generators and other unknown at this time.	$1,700
Project Manager	Because we are all volunteer, we need to pay a project manager to work longer hours. This will likely be one of our existing volunteers familiar with the facility. 6 weeks, part time.	$2,750
Total		$36,950