Publisher’s Notebook

• Wildfire’s Silent Survivors •

ANNE SOBLE

When wildfires strike, those of us who have been through the experience are all “neighbors,” no matter how far away the flames may be. As the current infernos claim more than 130,000 acres and homes fall despite the valiant efforts of air and land crews, there is a sense of human kinship that ignores geographical boundaries. Wildfire forges a bond based on primordial instincts of survival tempered with the need for cooperation in the face of overwhelming natural force.
The extent of the loss of lives and property is a numbing commentary on the impact of wildfire that eschews statistical comparisons. Any wildfire that one personally experiences is the worst. All of us voice compassion for those who suffer losses, most especially for the families of firefighters who live daily with the knowledge of the danger that their loved ones face.
Most of us, however, never fully comprehend the extent of the loss of wildlife in a fire of the magnitude of this week’s blazes. There are rarely cameras to record what usually occurs out of sight and sound as huge swaths of animal habitat are swallowed by flames.
The crew at Valley Wildlife Care, one of the local rescue groups on call with area fire departments, points out that fast moving animals, such as cougars, coyotes, bobcats, deer and birds able to fly have the best chance to escape to safety. But as one mountain lion cub sadly illustrated this week, escape may mean that animals run onto a freeway and are killed by traffic.
Slow moving animals, such as opossums, rabbits and most ground rodents have less of a chance. If burrowing isn’t possible, they simply cannot outrun wildfire.
Though normally nocturnal, this opossum was spotted walking down an evacuated street in broad daylight, disoriented and suffering from smoke inhalation. Some of his fur was singed by flames. A firefighter picked him up and wrapped him in his tarp. Many more animals were not so fortunate.
A resident in another fire zone spotted this baby opossum covered with ash and huddled under her doormat as she was evacuating. She picked him up and put him in a grocery bag. He is recovering in an incubator and expected to make it.
Although common sense is the first rule, and one should always keep in mind that a frightened wild animal might bite in self defense, it is possible to save many wildlife fire victims. For this reason, many animal rescue volunteers pack gloves, towels and boxes in their vehicles whenever black smoke fills the sky.