When the Silverado Fire hit in Southern California, plenty of animals needed to find safe places. Thankfully, this cute owl received some help from the least likely of places: firefighters!
A Small Guy Getting Rescued
When a huge wildfire breaks out, there’s often little to nothing that fire crews can do. But this time around, a crew from the Orange County Fire Authority managed to spot and save a barn owl before the flames came too close! “Earlier this evening one of our crews on a brush rig rescued a barn owl from the flames of the #SilveradoFire,” Orange County Fire Authority tweeted. “He’s safe and sound and currently with animal control.” The post also included a video of the firefighters wrapping the owl with a jacket and taking it to a safer location. Later, more pictures and video showed the owl resting in the firefighter’s lap in the car, eyes closed and completely struggle-free! “Poor guy,” one man says in the video. “We’ll get you some help, buddy.”
Soon after, the owl arrived at the Orange County Bird of Prey Center and received a top-notch checkup from a veterinarian. “This is our first victim of the Silverado Canyon Fires. After an exam by our doctors, it was determined that most of his injuries are burned feathers. We are not sure how bad his smoke inhalation damage is. We will have to hold onto him for a number of months until he molts new feathers. Once he gets new feathers, he will be able to be released,” the center stated on their Facebook page. It looked like a long road to recovery…
Speedy Recovery!
Thankfully, the owl‘s recovery has been smooth! Over the weeks, its caretakers grew very close to the white-feathered cutie, took pictures with it, and even named the guy with the help of the fans and followers. “The owl has officially been named by the volunteers at the Orange County Bird of Prey Center! Meet Smokey!” the bird center wrote on Twitter.
Representatives even created official accounts for Smokey’s fans: @smokey_the_barn_owl on Instagram and @SmokeyTheOwl on Twitter! “A quick update on Smokey: his appetite has increased and he is eating food all by himself! And, he graduated and no longer needs to be on medication! Now we just have to wait until those new feathers grow in!” they wrote in one update. The residents are happy to see Smokey recover, and so are we!
Sources: Fox News, MSN, Serrano Animal and Bird Hospital