Stephanie Brady, executive director and founder of the Wild West Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, issued an update after the center was endangered by the wildfire northwest of Amarillo that was quickly spreading Monday, May 18.
“All the animals have been completely evacuated,” she said. “Everyone is over at the animal santuary. We have a few buildings over there where we can put the animals in.”
The evacuation took less than an hour, with everything in place, according to Brady, who now also heads up the Amarillo Zoo & Sanctuary as a non-profit.
“I’m so proud of our team because ahead of time we started to evacuate our educational animals because they’re ususally easier — not Lincoln, he’s never easier — but we started getting them into kennels,” she said. “That’s why we asked for them and you guys are exceptional because you brought them to us.”
Brady said that the second wave was getting everyone out of the rehab center and that they had hundreds of animals in there now.
“It was tough, but I’m so proud of our team. We were able to get it done, and in less than an hour we got them out,” she said.
“Then outside we had to battle really high winds and lots of dust. We had to catch the raptors outside in pens because the smoke could get them. We also had a lot of bobcats and coyotes we had to get captured and brought in,” Brady said.
The director that she stayed behind a while to make sure her team was out and all the animals, and also to cut the barbed wire to let the donkeys out if neecessary, and two pigs.
“We started preparing to evacuate early,” she said.
Brady thanked all the people who donated crates and carriers for the possible evacuation due to the forward progress of the Stinky Fire, which had destroyed an estimated 2,570 acres of land around Bishop Estates and was heading close to Amarillo Boulevard West on Monday evening.
Brady said all the animals were safe and had been taken to the Amarillo Zoo & Sanctuary, thanks to volunteers and staff who aided in the recovery.
At first, Brady posted on Facebook that they didn’t have transportation for the donkeys, and she planned to cut the fence so they could run. But, someone stepped up to help and brought out a horse trailer to transport the two animals.
“I had no idea you guys would come out and help like that,” she said. “I’m heartbroken for people who lost their homes in this fire.”
“We’re in a terrible drought,” Brady added. “But we’re a good community. Texas is like that.”
At last report, the WWWRC was still standing and had not been damaged by the raging fires that swept the countryside.
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: WWWRC team evacuates wildlife in an hour to safe refuge
Reporting by Nell Williams, Amarillo Globe-News / Amarillo Globe-News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
