California Veterinary Medical Association's Disaster Response Program

ANIMALS AND CALIFORNIA DISASTERS

CALIFORNIA VETERINARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION’S
DISASTER RESPONSE PROGRAM

California Veterinary Medical Association's Disaster Response
Program is a network of volunteer veterinarians throughout
California who donate veterinary care for rescuing, evacuating,
treating, and sheltering animals during disasters. This network,
the Disaster Response Program, operates in conjunction with local
authorities, including the Office of Emergency Services, Animal
Control, Red Cross, Department of Food and Agriculture, and local
law enforcement.

1-800-655-2862

Each county in California is served by a Veterinary Coordinator,
a professional who provides advance planning and prepares an entire
team of local volunteers to care for California’s animals during
disasters.

When California disasters strike, CVMA’s toll-free emergency
telephone number for animals is announced to the public, right
along with human emergency telephone numbers.

For more information, contact Laura Phillips at 800-655-2862 or
916-649-0599; fax: 916-646-9156; email: lphillips@cvma.net

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SOURCE: http://www.avma.org/onlnews/javma/dec07/071201a.asp

Past disasters prompt Californians to evacuate, shelter animals
during wildfires

Hundreds of thousands of people fled from the wildfires that raced
through much of Southern California in late October—and they brought
along their animals.

Residents of the area remember the wildfires that burned the same
region in 2003, and they may have learned lessons from Hurricane
Katrina. In both of those disasters, numerous animals died or
suffered after people left them behind. People also risked their
own lives then trying to rescue animals from fire or flood.

The response to the recent wildfires extended to evacuating and
sheltering pets and horses more than in past disasters. As always,
the local veterinary community was on hand to assist.

About two dozen fires started in Southern California between
Saturday, Oct. 20, and Tuesday, Oct. 23, as fierce Santa Ana winds
blew west from the desert to the ocean. Just like four years ago,
the worst of the wildfires were in San Diego County, but officials
ordered more evacuations this time.

A county on fire

Numerous evacuation centers, including Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego,
allowed people to bring pets with them. Two community facilities that
operated human shelters in partnership with the American Red Cross
also allowed pets. Dr. Terry Paik, San Diego County coordinator for
veterinary disaster response, said veterinarians monitored the health
of animals at evacuation sites—many of which were outdoors.

Dr. Paik, who is an equine practitioner, noted that San Diego County
has a large number of horses. A few of the evacuation sites, such as
the Del Mar Fairgrounds and Lakeside Rodeo grounds, housed hundreds
or thousands of horses. Some horse owners stayed with their animals
in parking lots. Feed suppliers provided tons of hay.

San Diego County also has some large poultry farms and livestock
operations. The California Department of Food and Agriculture took
steps to assist poultry and livestock owners, even transporting milk
from dairies to processing facilities.

"Our highest priority is protecting human life," Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger said in the midst of the evacuations. "With that
said, we must also do whatever we can to save and protect our
livestock and (other) animals that are affected by this emergency."

Valerie Fenstermaker, executive director of the California VMA,
said the CVMA e-mailed members in Southern California to ask for
assistance. Many veterinarians housed horses or pets for evacuees.
Veterinary technicians and other veterinary staff offered their
services. The veterinary industry delivered supplies to the San
Diego area.

Fenstermaker said some of the veterinary coordinators for disaster
response worked around the clock, and they didn't have a chance
during the disaster to take stock of the damage.

"Our immediate concern is taking care of the animals that are
displaced." Fenstermaker said Wednesday, Oct. 24, as the fires
were burning out of control.

Pauline White, administrator of the San Diego County VMA, e-mailed
SDCVMA members to determine which clinics were open and providing
services. She shared the list with the County of San Diego
Department of Animal Services and other groups.

The Department of Animal Services is San Diego County's lead agency
for responding to animals during disasters. Officers coordinated
efforts to rescue animals that people left behind.

The department had help from the San Diego Humane Society and
other groups—such as the Los Angeles Society for the Prevention
of Cruelty to Animals, South East Area Animal Control Agency,
and Humane Society of the United States.

Lieutenant Daniel DeSousa said workers and volunteers rescued
animals ranging from dogs, cats, and horses to ducks, geese,
llamas, and goats.

"It's really hot and smoky here," Lt. DeSousa said Wednesday,
Oct. 24, at the height of the fires. "We're doing the best we
can. Are we going to lose animals in this? Yes, we are. But this
was apocalyptic. There's no way anyone could have been prepared
for something this huge."

Aftermath and analysis
As firefighters began to contain the blazes, officers with animal
services started looking for animals that had survived behind the
fire lines.

Workers and volunteers provided food for animals that hadn't
suffered injuries but whose owners hadn't returned. They brought
back horses, cats, and dogs with burns for treatment. Lieutenant
DeSousa said officers paid an emotional toll from finding animals
that burned to death, such as 15 goats in one field.

Dr. Paik knows of four veterinarians who lost their homes, but he
doesn't know of anyone who lost a clinic.

"Most of the veterinarians are back to their practices, receiving
calls from their clients," Dr. Paik said Monday, Oct. 29, less than
a week after the wildfires peaked.

At the same time, Fenstermaker said, many people who evacuated with
animals were unable to return home because their houses or land had
burned.

Lieutenant DeSousa said the fires seemed to be as bad as or worse
than they were in 2003 because so many fires spread simultaneously.
Yet, people who remembered the fires of four years ago had learned
to evacuate promptly and take along their animals.

The Del Mar Fairgrounds took in a lot of loose horses in 2003, Lt.
DeSousa said, but people arrived with their horses this time. He
added that more human shelters may have allowed animals because
of the lesson from Hurricane Katrina that people will not evacuate
otherwise.

"We obviously saw a lot more people evacuating with their animals
this time around," Lt. DeSousa said. "Hopefully, there are less
injuries."

Lieutenant DeSousa thinks workers and volunteers rescued similar
numbers of animals as four years ago. He hadn't seen as many
animal injuries, but he couldn't judge for certain—because
animals were staying at various shelters and veterinary clinics.
Dr. Paik also thinks that people evacuated more animals this time
than in 2003. Some people still left animals behind because they
waited too long or because the fires were moving too fast.
"The main message we're trying to get across is for people to be
prepared, have an evacuation plan, and practice that plan," Dr.
Paik said.

White said precautionary evacuations gave people warning to move
animals. Animal deaths and injuries did not appear to be as
extensive as veterinarians had feared, except perhaps among
wildlife.

White said officials are aware now that providing for pets and
other animals is becoming one of the requirements for disaster
response. Pet-friendly human shelters gave people somewhere to
go quickly to escape the fires. She said the city and county
were much clearer about the provisions for animals than they
were four years ago.

Paul Miller, a spokesman for the Red Cross, said the organization
continues to adhere to the policy of not accepting pets in
shelters. In this case, the Red Cross operated two shelters in
partnership with community facilities at the Del Mar Fairgrounds
and Valley Center High School, and both of the community shelters
allowed animals.

Looking ahead
The Pet Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act of 2006
authorized using federal funds to help states create
pet-friendly human shelters. The PETS Act also requires state
and local governments to take pets into account in disaster
planning.

Steve Lyle, a spokesman for the California Department of Food
and Agriculture, said the PETS Act is too new to have affected
the response to the wildfires, though. Also, the state already
had a program for responding to animals during disasters, the
California Animal Response Emergency System, with the
agriculture department as the lead agency.

The CVMA operates the Veterinary Disaster Response Coordinator
program in cooperation with the state, Fenstermaker said. Each
county has a coordinator and team.

"We've been working under this same system for a while,"
Fenstermaker said.

She said the state has developed a very orderly approach to
handling animals in emergency situations—delineating who is
responsible for what, without a lot of overlap. Fenstermaker
said the response to disaster goes more smoothly each time,
and the response to the recent wildfires improved on the
approach to the fires four years ago.

By the morning of Wednesday, Oct. 31, San Diego County officials
had lifted all evacuation orders. Southern California reported
fewer human fatalities than in 2003, though numbers were not
available for animal deaths. The wildfires destroyed more than
2,000 homes, most of them in San Diego County.

As the rebuilding process begins, the American Veterinary
Medical Foundation is offering support to veterinarians
through individual reimbursement and relief awards. The
AVMF created the grant program after Hurricane Katrina to
help ensure veterinary care to the animal victims of
disasters. Details about the program are at www.avmf.org.
Veterinarians who suffered losses because of the wildfires or
who incurred costs by offering medical services to animal victims
can apply for up to $2,000 by contacting Monique Buonincontro,
AVMF grants coordinator, at (800) 248-2862, Ext. 6691, or at
mbuonincontro@avma.org. The funds can cover medical expenses,
equipment, modest boarding, some travel, loss of property, and
other expenses.

The AVMA also advises veterinary professionals who need help
or who wish to offer help to contact the California VMA at
(800)655-2862. The CVMA Web site is at www.cvma.net. It also
includes a link to information about effects of smoke on horses
from the University of California-Davis School of Veterinary
Medicine.