Body Cam Footage Shows NorCal Police Frantically Evacuate Animals from SPCA Near Wildfire

When the Nelson Fire broke out in Solano County in August, one of the closest structures threatened by the fire was the Solano SPCA. During wildfires, police and fire officials usually use their precious time to alert households of immediate evacuation notices. This time around, they spent their time rescuing animals.

Body cam footage was released by the Vacaville Police Department of officers frantically trying to evacuate over 60 animals from the SPCA as the flames neared the building. The officers heroically extracted the animals and put them in their squad cars before driving off from the moving fire. See the footage:

https://www.facebook.com/VacavillePoliceDepartment/videos/10160939452055193/

Such a beautiful story. When fires hit a community, it’s important to remember everyone that needs help in that situation, including our furry friends. Here is what the SPCA said about the evacuation:

We wanted to give a quick update and thank everyone for their support. We understand that many people are under the impression that we left a volunteer and cats behind last night in the fire. We were forced to evacuate under extremely short notice. Vacaville Police Department was gracious enough to fit as many animals as they could in their vehicles to help us. Unfortunately we were under the impression that all animals were out and safe when we evacuated. We found out later that there had been a few cats still in the cat building. However, fire crews were stationed on our property, outside that building, ready to protect it. The volunteer that was in there went in illegally and crossed the fire line without anyone knowing after we had been out for quite a while. We would never leave a person behind. If we knew he was in there, we would have called to inform first responders to get him out! Once it was deemed safe, shortly after we found out a volunteer was there, two of our staff members were able to be escorted in by the police department to get the remainder of the animals out. All animals are safe in foster homes at this time. Unfortunately we do not have power or water at this time but all 60 of our animals are safe in foster homes for the time being. We are hoping to get in there tomorrow to clean up the ash and debris inside our kennel building and around the property. We thank you all so much for your donations, love, support, and concerns. The Vacaville community has been so gracious to open their homes and hearts for us. If you have pictures from last night feel free to post them on our page.

If you are still looking to donate, we will keep you posted as for when we will be able to accept them. Only two staff members were able to go in today and get an idea of where we are at. Fire crews were still working today putting out hot spots and we are grateful for their hard work. We are extremely lucky and thankful to the fire departments and police departments who were on site last night and on the front lines. Thank you!