Orange County Firefighters Visit 'Smokey' Rescued Barn Owl

LAKE FOREST, CA — The firefighters of Station 70 rescued an injured barn owl during their work on the Silverado Fire in October. Weeks later, they returned to the Serrano Animal & Bird Hospital to check on the owl's progress.

The barn owl shrieked in ongoing protest during their Wednesday visit, and his rescuers laughed at the beautiful — albeit incredibly loud — sound.

The rescue took place on Day Two of the fast-moving Silverado fire, as the Station 70 crew worked in the hard-hit areas of Irvine. The wildfire was pushed by heavy Santa Ana winds, displacing over 90,000 residents in its path. Though protecting people is the firefighters' primary concern, wildlife is always a factor.

When it comes to caring for creatures, Orange County Fire Authority Firefighters firefighters regularly go out of their way to lend a hand.

Read: Firefighters Rescue Baby Raccoon During Weekend Storm

Firefighters Justin Chapman and Frank Granados talked with reporters this week about last month's experience while visiting their feathered friend.

According to Granados, they were checking hot spots in Irvine in the embattled Orchard Hills area when they saw the owl.

The barn owl, now known as Smokey the Owl, was in distress and unable to take flight. The sight of his singed wingtips and burns covering its body drew instant concern from the firefighters.

Granados said he considered how to capture the flightless owl carefully, comparing it to chicken-wrangling.

"I joked and said, 'Any of you guys ever catch a chicken before?'" he said outside the Serrano Animal & Bird Hospital.

Firefighter/medic Chapman described the wrangling. "We shepherded it into this burned outfield and did a kind of flank and pincer maneuver," Chapman said. "We were able to get it to stop in its tracks."

Earlier this evening one of our crews on a brush rig rescued a barn owl from the flames of the #SilveradoFire. He’s safe and sound and currently with animal control. pic.twitter.com/L7VycEx3qd
— OCFA PIO (@OCFA_PIO) October 28, 2020

At that point, Chapman took off his yellow jacket and carefully pinned its wings, wrapped the owl "up like a burrito" and took the exhausted bird into their truck. It was a "surreal moment," he said, "a part of the job you don't ever think you're going to do."

They called for animal control assistance and drove to a nearby fire station to meet them. The owl was in Chapman's lap, remaining still and without any fight left.

Animal control took the barn owl to the Serrano Animal & Bird Hospital to receive care for the next 30 days. After that, he will go to another facility until his wings repair themselves. A GoFundMe account will help to offset his care.

A veterinary assistant, Emma Van Etten, told FoxLA that "he is one of the more feisty birds we've had in a while."

According to Etten, the owl is doing well, eating on his own, and is no longer on pain medication. Now, they will watch and wait for his burned flight feathers to molt and grow back.

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This is why we do what we do. Thanks to quick acting fire fighters @orangecountyfireauthority , and animal control that brought this owl to our veterinarians @serranoanimalandbird . We will care for them for several months before they are able to molt all their primary flight feathers. As you can see by the video, they are quite feisty which is a great sign! If you'd like to help this barn owl in their recovery as well as the other raptors in our care, please consider donating! Check out the link tree in our bio for ways to donate! #orangecountybirdofpreycenter #ocbpc #birdofprey #barnowl #silveradofire #raptor #raptorrehab #orangecountyfireauthority
A post shared by OC Bird of Prey Center (@ocbpc) on Oct 28, 2020 at 11:55am PDT

His next stop is the OC Bird of Prey Center until he is well enough to release into the wild, most likely in the spring.

According to OC Bird of Prey Center Executive Director Dr. Peggy Chase, "this is why we do what we do. Smokey the Owl no doubt would have died and suffered a great deal had they not rescued him that day."

Smokey is now a celebrity on Instagram, and there are fundraisers established for his care.

Chase expects that the firefighters will return once again to do the honors of seeing Smokey fly free at last.

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