Nestless and Rescued: Firefighter Uses Coffee Cup To Save Baby Bird From Smoky Soberanes Fire

MONTEREY COUNTY, CA – A firefighter fighting the massive Soberanes fire in Monterey County carried a tiny baby bird to safety in a Starbucks coffee cup, according to the SPCA for Monterey County.

The firefighter brought the fledgling Pacific-Slope Flycatcher into the SPCA Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Center on Tuesday. Its left eye was closed, likely because it was irritated by the smoke from the nearly 5,800-acre fire.

As of Friday, the little bird was bright, alert, responsive and eating well, SPCA officials said. They expect he'll fully recover and be able to return to the wild.

The flycatcher is just one of a menagerie of displaced animals the SPCA of Monterey County has taken in because of the Soberanes fire. In addition to the bird, 180 pets have been taken in, including 44 cats, 33 dogs, 65 chickens, six goats, six ducks, five turkeys, four guinea hens, five horses, three donkeys, three parakeets, a rabbit, a lamb, a turtle, a tarantula, a king snake and a leopard gecko.

The shelter has already returned 13 cats and dogs to their owners and are providing free food, supplies and evacuation services to hundreds more, SPCA officials said.

The SPCA is asking for donations to help all the displaced animals. Cash donations can be made at www.SPCAmc.org/fire and donations of towels, pet food, pet toys, pet supplies and pet beds can be dropped off at the shelter at 1002 Monterey Salinas Highway.

Meanwhile as for the fire battle, some evacuation orders in Monterey County were lifted Sunday as firefighters come closer to containing the massive Soberanes Fire that has swallowed nearly 58,000 acres of forest north of Big Sur over the last two weeks.

As of Sunday morning, the fire was 45 percent contained at 57,500 acres. But it could take until the end of the month to get it fully contained and it grew about 1,000 acres overnight, according to Cal Fire. About 650
structures are still threatened.

The Monterey County Sheriff's Office announced Sunday afternoon that evacuations have been lifted for the area west of state Highway 1 from Coast Road to Graves Canyon, south of where the fire is burning. However, anyone returning there will remain under a warning and could be ordered to evacuate at any time.

Areas east of Highway 1 remain under evacuation orders, according to the sheriff's office.

Numerous residents remain evacuated in the area where the fire has been burning, which stretches from just north of Garrapata State Park in the north nearly to Big Sur in the south and to Cachagua Road in the east.
Most of the Los Padres National Forest area remains closed as well.

Residents near the fire should keep up-to-date on the fire's movement and the latest evacuation orders and warnings.

Overnight, fire activity increased in the southwest portion of the fire because of high winds in the area. Much of the fire remains in steep, rugged and inaccessible terrain so getting it contained has been challenging.

The fire has already destroyed 57 homes and 11 outbuildings and damaged five other structures. It claimed the life of a bulldozer operator working to put the fire out, identified as 35-year-old Robert Oliver Reagan
III of Fresno County, during the first week it burned.

Three other people have been injured by the fire in recent days, but fire officials have not disclosed how they were injured. It broke out the morning of July 22 when an illegal campfire was left abandoned in the Soberanes Creek area of Garrapata State Park. It spread quickly and, in addition to the evacuations, led to the cancellation of the Salinas Valley Half-Marathon scheduled for this weekend due to air quality concerns.

• Also see: Clint Eastwood Visits Firefighters Battling Soberanes Fire

Previous Soberanes Fire Coverage:

• Two Injured in Massive Soberanes Fire
• Dry Weather Causes Soberanes Fire to Spread
• UPDATED: Soberanes Fire Grows to 43,400 Acres, 18% Contained
• PG&E Crews to Begin Rebuilding Infrastructure Damaged by Soberanes Fire
• UPDATE: Soberanes Fire Grows to 40,000 Acres, 18% Contained
• Soberanes Fire Latest: Bulldozer Operator Identified, 31,386 Acres Burned
• Soberanes Fire Latest: Identity Of Bulldozer Operator Who Died Is Released, Community Meeting Set
• Soberanes Fire Latest: Fatality Reported, New Evacuation Orders
• Soberanes Fire Latest: Monterey County Fire Has Burned 19,311 Acres, Remains 10 Percent Contained
• Soberanes Fire: Monterey County Blaze Grows, State Parks Shut Down
• Monterey County Fire Has Burned 6,500 Acres; Only 5 Percent Contained

--Bay City News/Images courtesy of the SPCA for Monterey County