When Jen Ellis told her children they wouldn’t be going home, they cried.
After a long Saturday spent preparing for 4-H competitions at the Santa Barbara County Fair in Santa Maria, Ellis and her children made their way home to the Cachuma Village near Santa Ynez. But as the family pulled through town, Ellis said she noticed smoke billowing into the sky.
She and her kids drove to get a closer look at the beginnings of the Whittier Fire, which as of July 18 burned more than 18,000 acres, destroyed 46 structures, and threatened both animal and human lives in Santa Barbara County. Within 40 minutes of Whittier’s start, Ellis said her neighborhood was under mandatory evacuation on July 8. She immediately drove toward her home to collect their things and save their various animals.
“I was thinking, it can’t be that close that fast, but I guess it was,” Ellis said. “I just couldn’t believe it. We really couldn’t get in at all.”
The roads home were closed.
Although Ellis’ children, 10-year-old Anna Solem and 13-year-old Grant Solem, had moved their livestock in the days prior as part of their preparation for the fair’s 4-H competitions, many of their other pets, including several fish and cats, were left behind. As Ellis and her family headed back toward the Santa Maria Inn, where they always stay during the county fair, reality set in.
“It was scary thinking all my memories in my house might burn down,” Anna said. “But the fair has helped. It’s a good distraction to have the fair and my friends around.”
Their house didn’t burn down, Ellis said, but there was still her kids’ 4-H competition.
While the fair acted as a helpful coping tool and distraction for the children, it was just another stressor for Ellis, she said. Members of 4-H are required to wear specific uniforms and boots during competitions, she explained, and her family was unable to grab those clothes before they were evacuated. Ellis said her kids borrowed everything they needed from other families in their 4-H group.
“Even people I don’t know very well have just been so helpful,” Ellis said. “Unfortunately it takes something like this to realize we live around good people.”
Ellis and her children are among many local families who struggled to gather their important belongings and to save their pets and livestock after the Alamo and Whittier fires threatened farm and ranch lands in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. Santa Barbara County Animal Services jumped to help displaced residents find temporary homes for animals of all kinds during the mandatory evacuations, which garnered thanks from Santa Barbara County supervisors at their July 11 meeting.
Animal Services Director Jan Glick said the Santa Barbara shelter alone took in 39 dogs and 27 cats, and several of its adoptable pets were transported to the Santa Maria Humane Society to make room for evacuees. Larger animals were taken to the Earl Warren Showgrounds in Santa Barbara and the Elks Unocal Events Center in Santa Maria. Several goats were transported to Santa Maria for safety as well.
For some locals, the fires threatened not pets, but the animals and pastures that make up their livelihoods. Glick said two ranchers had their pastures and hay destroyed by the Alamo Fire. Each rancher has roughly 80 cattle and no way to feed them, Glick said, and Animal Services is working to find donations.
Another family from Santa Ynez, the Lenchers, were unable to show their birds in the fair’s 4-H competitions because of the Whittier Fire, according to Santa Ynez 4-H community leader Harriet Heath. The family, Heath said, has nearly 50 birds—including turkeys, chickens, and doves—that were saved and are now being fostered in various locations.
After the chaos of evacuating their animals, Heath said the family missed the 4-H deadline and couldn’t compete this year.
Director Glick said Animal Services has worked closely with community organizations like the Santa Maria Elks Lodge, which hosted four displaced horses and a camp for firefighters at its event center, according to Elks Chief Operations Officer Tina Tonascia. Elks volunteers and Animal Services employees took on 24-hour care of the animals, which Tonascia said are often traumatized by the wildfire.
Tonascia said the animals can stay for however long they need to, and owners can come visit. The community teamwork is crucial during emergencies, Tonascia said, but she hopes residents learn to heed the first warnings of evacuation. When people with livestock wait until the last minute to leave, Tonascia said, it’s often too late to herd and load the larger animals and get out safely.
“It got to a point where when it hit, it hit hard, and we couldn’t get in to grab many of the animals because it just wasn’t safe,” Tonascia said. “When you have a whole crew and room for the animals but you can’t get to them, it’s really disheartening.”
While many people affected by the Alamo Fire were able to return to their homes begining July 12, the Whittier Fire reportedly backed down the south slope of the Santa Ynez Mountains above the canyons west of Goleta and new evacuations were ordered for areas near Winchester Canyon Road and El Camino Ranch Road on July 14, according to a county press release. Paradise Road was opened and several other evacuation orders were lifted as the Whittier Fire reached 62 percent containment on July 17.
Still, the American Red Cross opened an evacuation center at San Marcos High School where small pets would be accepted, and the Santa Barbara Humane Society is also available to assist evacuees with small animals, according to a press release. Large animals are being accepted at the Earl Warren Showgrounds.
Because many people don’t know about evacuation centers that accept pets and livestock, Tonascia said she hopes to create an education program that would inform people on the fire evacuation process.
“It’s OK to bring your large animals down and let us watch them while you take care of what you need to concentrate on,” Tonascia said.
Staff Writer Kasey Bubnash can be reached at kbubnash@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jul 20-27, 2017.
