Schools
UC Davis Staff Save Homes And Animals
As of this morning (Aug. 20), according to Cal Fire, flames had covered 131,000 acres across five counties — and there was zero containment
August 20, 2020
UC Davis firefighters battled the LNU Lightning Complex on two fronts Wednesday (Aug. 19), saving homes in Vacaville and setting backfires outside Winters. Also Wednesday, the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital received its first patients from the fires.
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A lightning storm Monday night (Aug. 17) set off multiple fires — all of which Cal fire has lumped together in what the agency calls a “complex.” As of this morning (Aug. 20), according to Cal Fire, flames had covered 131,000 acres across five counties — and there was zero containment.
The UC Davis Natural Reserve System hoped to receive word today (Aug. 20) about three university properties on another side of the LNU Lightning Complex, near the south end of Lake Berryessa: Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve, Cahill Riparian Preserve and Quail Ridge Reserve.
Find out what's happening in Davisfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
“Stebbins Cold Canyon and Cahill Riparian Preserve … are at the core of the burned area in Napa-Solano counties, so we expect that most of Stebbins burned,” Jeffrey Clary, associate director of the UC Davis Natural Reserve System, reported Wednesday night.
Shane Waddell, director of the Quail Ridge Reserve, took this photo as he and his family were evacuating.
The same may be true for Quail Ridge Reserve. Shane Waddell, the reserve’s director, evacuated with his family earlier this week — and there is no word on the fate of their home or the Quail Ridge field station.
“In summary, we don’t know much,” Clark said. “It’s been a rough couple of days.”
The campus’s Engine 34 spent a day and a half battling the flames. The crew returned this morning from Winters.
“They were deployed to multiple locations with minimal support and were instrumental saving structures in Vacaville and in two firing operations in Winters off Highway 128,” Fire Chief Nate Trauernicht said.
Capt. Steve Dunn, who has been assigned to the Jones Fire west of Nevada City since Monday (Aug. 17), leading a strike team of fire crews from other agencies, is likely to be reassigned to the LNU Lightning Complex, Trauernicht said.
At the veterinary hospital
The School of Veterinary Medicine reported taking in three patients: an 11-year-old horse, a Welsh pony and an alpaca.
In a Facebook post, the school described the horse, Ava, as the sole survivor out of six horses owned by a woman in the Quail Canyon area who also lost her home and vehicle to the flames. The pony, Puzzler, belongs to a friend of Ava’s owner, and the alpaca was brought to the hospital after law enforcement officers asked passersby to load him in their truck. Hospital staff have dubbed the alpaca Canelo.
The School of Veterinary Medicine welcomes donations to its Catastrophic Need Fund to help care for animals like these.
Campus resources
UC Davis employees were among the fire evacuees, and the university announced this morning that it was looking to be able to provide short-term emergency housing. An update was expected later today.
“Our UC Davis faculty, staff and students have been through so much this year, and now many in our community have faced further adversity brought on by the wildfires ravaging California,” officials said in this morning’s email. “Some have had their homes destroyed or damaged by fire, while others have been forced to leave their homes in mandatory evacuations, not knowing if those homes will be there when they return. And many of you are sheltering your family and friends who have been forced to evacuate.”
The message went on to outline available resources, including the Academic and Staff Assistance program, or ASAP; the Aggie Compass Basic Needs Center; and Student Health and Counseling Services.
In the south state
A four-person UC Davis crew aboard the Fire Department’s Brush Truck 34 has been battling the Ranch 2 Fire in the Angeles National Forest. The U.S. Forest Service reported today that the fire had burned 4,237 acres and was 33 percent contained.
Brush 34 and its crew — Paul Rush, captain; Corrie Beall, engineer; and Meggie Elledge and Christopher Hay, firefighters — left campus Aug. 13, originally assigned to the Lake Fire north of Santa Clarita, then moved to the Ranch2 Fire on Sunday (Aug. 16).
Chief Trauernicht said the crew had been assigned a rest day today, before being sent home.
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This press release was produced by the University of California, Davis. The views expressed here are the author’s own.