Last Wednesday, residents near the Northern California town of Campbellville were forced to evacuate their homes in the path of the state’s largest wildfire — the Park Fire — which has so far burned more than 370 thousand acres.
Among them was a person with their pets fleeing the fire zone in a truck that became disabled.
“Unfortunately, the resident had to leave the truck behind, which included two adult Rottweilers and their puppies,” the Butte County Sheriff wrote. “The owner provided responders with the location of the truck, but the area was not immediately accessible due to the fire.“
Thankfully for the dogs, however, hope was not lost.
Having learned of the dogs’ predicament, Trevor Skraggs of the Butte County Sheriff’s Search & Rescue decided to try his best to save them.
Traveling by helicopter into the fire zone, Skraggs was dropped off at a safe landing spot some distance from where the dogs were last seen.
“After arriving, Trevor ran 1.5 miles to the location and found the puppies and mother alive, but tired and very thirsty,” the sheriff’s office wrote.
Sadly, the puppies’ father had not survived — but Skraggs ensured that the rest of the family would not meet that same fate.
He fed them and gave them water. Then, he guided the exhausted family back to the waiting helicopter.
Skraggs’ heroic efforts had saved their lives.
Upon landing back outside the fire zone, Skraggs posed for photos with the dogs he’d rescued.
Amid so much tragedy, the dogs’ safe arrival proved to be a glimmer of hope.
Later, the dogs were transferred to the care of the North Valley Animal Disaster Group — a nonprofit working to keep animals displaced by the fire safe.
Skraggs’ lifesaving actions have earned him praise from the public and his colleagues alike.
“It’s been a horrific few days for our community,” the Butte County Sheriff wrote. “We are grateful to be able to share this amazing story.”
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
