Hundreds of animals that were housed at the Antelope Valley Fairgrounds in Lancaster and other shelters during the Sand Fire are beginning to return home this week.
Lions, and tigers, and bunches of other animals all had to be caged and moved to safer areas while the blaze ripped through several neighborhoods in the Santa Clarita area.
Volunteers like Brooke Belanger lent their time to see that Santa Clarita and Acton’s large and exotic animals wouldn’t become victims of the flames.
“The biggest challenge being the cattle, putting them onto the trailers, because they were not cooperating,” said Belanger, a care giver at Farm Sanctuary in Acton.
She said 18 sheep, eight cattle, eight goats, four pigs and two donkeys that live in the sanctuary were housed at the Antelope Valley Fairgrounds during the fire and she hoped they’d be able to return by this weekend.
“We have a really great crew,” she said.
Another animal sanctuary affected by the blaze, the Wildlife Waystation, has set up a GoFundMe page to help volunteers keep the animals safe.