California rescuer guided 4 puppies and their mom to safety in town burned by Park Fire
A volunteer with the Butte County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue team ran more than a mile through territory burned by the Park Fire — the sixth-largest wildfire in California history — to rescue five puppies and their mother as the dogs’ father died, authorities said.
Embers swirled near Campbellville on Wednesday night as residents raced to evacuate their homes. The area is near Cohasset, a community of 847 residents, that was decimated by the wildfire. The Park Fire has burned 368,256 acres (575 square miles) and was 12% contained as of Monday morning, according to Cal Fire.
The truck of a resident rushing away from the area became disabled while its owner escaped the flames, according to the Butte County Sheriff’s Office. The person left their truck behind, which included two Rottweiler parents and their four puppies.
Trevor Skaggs, a member of the Butte County Search and Rescue team, flew over in a helicopter flown by Sheriff’s Office pilot Conner Smith and dropped down into the fire zone Saturday. He ran about a mile and a half and found the puppies, the Sheriff’s Office said.
The mother Rottweiler and puppies were alive — “tired and very thirsty” — but the father dog had died, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Skaggs coaxed the five surviving dogs to follow him by providing bites of his protein bar, which allowed them to follow him back, sheriff’s officials said.
The dogs were flown to the Chico Airport and are now being taken care of by the North Valley Animal Disaster Group, authorities said.
“It’s been a horrific few days for our community and we are grateful to be able to share this amazing story,” the Butte County Sheriff’s Office said.
