Lake Evacuation & Animal Protection (LEAP) is the result of meetings over the past year between members of the Lake County Horse Council and county animal control officials, according to Animal Care and Control Director Bill Davidson.
The group has been invited to participate in a monthly wildland fire training exercise in Clearlake at the sewer ponds between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 16.
Davidson said when local fire agencies found out about the group, they invited them to attend and participate by staging a scenario that would involve the evacuation of animals. He said LEAP plans on having at least one horse and dog available for the evacuation drill.
Currently LEAP has 12 members but they know they need more in order to be able to respond effectively to a local disaster, Davidson said.
Davidson said the horse council members approached him last year with the idea of creating a joint disaster response group to aid animals in need during times of disaster.
He said the group's volunteers are authorized by his department to work side by side with animal control officials in an evacuation zone or area to help transport animals that may be in danger.
The recognized volunteers have been through extensive training in animal disaster preparedness, wildland fire safety, Incident Command System modules, radio communication and procedures, and animal handling, Davidson said.
Davidson said the general public won't be able to call LEAP for assistance, because the group will only be activated in the event of an official disaster as declared by Office of Emergency Services, Cal Fire or the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, and their response will be to deal with those animals in immediate danger first.
Once activated to respond to a disaster where the need to evacuate people and animals might occur, the group – upon arriving at the staging area – will divide up into two-person teams and be escorted by a Cal Fire member to any residence or property where the need to evacuate animals exists, he explained.
Once the team returns to the staging area, Davidson said the animals will be unloaded and transported to temporary housing by other members. Multiple teams may be entering the evacuation area at a time, or it could be on a rational basis, depending on the circumstances. This process will continue until all animals are removed or we are ordered to stop.
Any team member who responds in an evacuation zone will be outfitted with personal protection equipment, including a Nomex fire retardant suit, helmet, goggles, gloves and a personal fire safety tent in the event the fire should take over, Davidson said.
“We have some of this equipment now, but a federal grant has been submitted on our group’s behalf by other members and Cal Fire to obtain the rest of what we need,” he said.
Anyone interested in joining the group can contact Davidson at 707-263-0278.
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