ZDR3 responds to historic Southern California Wildfires

Photo Credit: Ethan Swope / Associated Press

A catastrophic series of fast-moving wildfires began burning in Southern California on January 7th. The ZDR3 team has been in contact with facilities in the region since the first day of the fires, and will stay in communication with them until the event is finished. At the time of last contact, no facilities in the region were in imminent risk or reporting high levels of need. Since firefighting teams anticipate more wind and dry conditions to continue complicating their efforts to contain the fires into next week, we will remain activated and ready to roll, if needed. We want to recognize and thank ZDR3 Network facility members on standby in the region that have indicated willingness to deploy or provide resources.

When we communicate with Network members at the beginning of a severe weather event such as these wildfires, ZDR3 is looking to understand—to the extent they want to share—their level of current risk, their contingency planning, and what assistance they may request. This is different from what happens when a formal request for assistance is made - this is the pre-work.  We work with Network facility leadership that anticipate the need for potential support to understand their evacuation plans and triggers, and if they may need additional people, crates, or vehicles to do so. 

If a facility indicates that they do need additional resources and are likely to need to evacuate, we reach out to other network members in the area, and determine who can provide that assistance. We also talk to facilities about other needs that might arise during an ongoing emergency: do they have animals that need life support systems, and if so, what sort of backup power options do they have on hand? How are their food supplies for animals with highly specialized diets? These questions allow us to pre-plan how to fulfill these needs if formal requests for assistance do come. 

The personal losses as a result of this fire are staggering. Many dedicated staff and volunteers at these facilities have lost their homes and/or had their communities impacted, and our thoughts are with the people who continue to support their animals during times of extreme hardship.

Among other animals rescued from the fires, the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center is now housing multiple peacocks!

Photo Credit: Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center

Some  facilities in Southern California have requested assistance with replenishing supplies, and ZDR3 is working to procure them. The Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center in Huntington Beach, a ZDR3 Network facility member, is being taxed by the volume of incoming animals: they are not only taking new patients injured in the fires, but assisting with caring for animals from other wildlife rehabs closer to evacuation zones. ZDR3 is working with the Santa Ana Zoo and Dr. Kate Moore of Good Vibes Mobile Veterinary Service to help address veterinary staffing and supply shortages that this influx of patients has created. 

We want to highlight the leadership and staff at the Santa Ana Zoo for their dedication to  assisting other facilities during wildfire evacuations. This is the third recent major wildfire incident in which they’ve provided much-needed support to other facilities, two of which were as part of the ZDR3 Network. They sent a team to evacuate animals and house a collection for several weeks during the 2024 fire season. In 2025, not only are they collecting medical supplies for the WWCC, but the veterinarian who serves the zoo has volunteered her time and expertise to assist with animal care at the site. The Santa Ana Zoo team has developed a unique level of expertise on the topic of wildfire response over the past few years, and ZDR3 is very grateful they are part of our network. 

Veterinary supplies contributed by the Santa Ana Zoo to Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center.
Photo Credit: Jenny Walker

When the fires started, ZDR3 Executive Director Julia Wilder was in Sacramento participating in a planned tabletop exercise conducted by UC Davis in conjunction with the USDA, CAL FIRE, CDFW, and other stakeholders. The topic of the tabletop exercise: evacuating a zoo threatened by a fire. Pre-planning exercises, such as tabletop emergency drills, are an extremely valuable tool for allowing facilities to practice responding to severe situations and identify any part of their response plans that needs additional attention. To learn more about what these entail and how to conduct them, go to https://www.zdr3.org/education-workshops. 

ZDR3 is available to respond to any facility holding exotic animals and/or wildlife, whether or not it is part of our network. If you need assistance with facility preparedness,  recovery, and/or resources to support impacted personnel, please have your Director, owner, or designee contact us.

To request assistance, Call/Text 304-933-9373 (ZDR3 Emergency Phone Line)

If you call for assistance, please also text or email details to RequestSupport@zdr3.org. 

This is not a replacement for 911/emergency services. Be sure to also contact appropriate emergency response and/or oversight agencies.

We are Stronger Together.