By Brittny Mejia, Los Angeles Times
On Little Tujunga Canyon Road at the Wildlife Waystation, staff members worked on little sleep to keep the wild and exotic animal sanctuary — and its residents — safe.
Martine Colette, founder of the Wildlife Waystation, kept her walkie-talkie close while she worked Wednesday, as firetrucks rolled in and out of the parking lot. Smoke billowed from the mountains nearby, sending ash through the air. Firefighters continued to put out spot fires throughout Wednesday.
Colette, who lives in a home at the center of the facility, woke up at 4:30 a.m. Tuesday to see the fire blazing nearby. She and her staff immediately began working to ensure the animals didn’t burn in their enclosures.
Once dawn came, they began preparing for evacuation. They separated the different types of caging, some suitable for hyenas, others for Siberian tigers, another suitable for a chimpanzee. They had to figure out what to do about the buffalo roaming loose in the fire zone, as well as what they’d do with animals with small lungs — like birds — who wouldn’t be able to survive the smoke.
“The smoke was very thick,” Colette said. “It was very, very scary.”
The power went out early Tuesday evening.
“You’re now working in the dark and you’re working with very dangerous animals. You’re working with lions and tigers and leopards and hyenas and mountain lions, things like that,” she said. Staff worked by flashlight.
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