THE DAILY NEWS KAMLOOPS
Wednesday, August 13/03

“Noah’s Wish & SPCA
During tragedy these volunteers drive North America to Help the Animals

By Roxanne Hooper
Daily News Staff Reporter

At least one cat used up most or all of its nine lives when wildfire ripped through an 11-unit mobile home part in Louis Creek more than a week ago.

That cat, which we’ll call Lou for lack of knowing his real name, was still at Riverside Small Animal Hospital Tuesday night being treated for burns to its paws and face – especially harsh are wounds around one of his eyes.

Terri Crisp said she spent a sleepless night on Sunday after she learned the cat had survived the fire, but none of the volunteers earlier that day had been able to find or treat the feline.

Lou’s existence was brought to her attention by a man living in the lone residence left standing in the small community’s trailer park.

He first spotted the young while cat with calico markings Saturday night, when Lou was wandering around the charred rubble and debris that was once Louis Creek.

Lou had no desire for interaction with people. This was no surprise to the resident or to Crisp – who learned about the animal’s existence the next morning.

THIRSTY CAT

The man put out food and water for the cat and reported that Lou didn’t touch the food, but spent “a good 15 minutes” guzzling water. And he was able to shine a flashlight on Lou while he drank.

The light revealed this small cat was having difficulty walking. Singed whiskers and burns to its face were also apparent under the filtered light. Even descriptions of how Lou reacted to the bright light told an animal handler he had definitely had too close a call with fire.

Hearing of this cat, animal lovers at the SPCA – including members of a U.S. based disaster relief team called Noah’s Wish – converged on Louis Creek on Sunday.

They searched in and around the debris of the trailer park, antique store, convenience market and mill. But they found no sign of the cat.

By that time Lou had been alone – with the exception of the occasional firefighter – in Louis Creek for about eight days without a consistent supply of safe food or water, Crisp noted. The cat’s chances of survival were diminishing by the hour.

Crisp, founder and director of Noah’s Wish, made it her mission that day to find this cat she knew would be in desperate need of medical attention. After hours of combing the area, they resolved to setting out three humane traps that might attract Lou. The resident checked the traps during the evening – but reported back to Crisp that they were still empty.

When Crisp returned to her makeshift home in a tent across form the SPCA late Sunday night, she said sleep was impossible. Not because of the accommodations, but because she was worried for the defenceless animal

Lou’s story, however, has turned out to be one of the highlights – if there is such a thing – for Crisp from the B.C. Interior’s wildfires of 2003.

A firefighter mopping up in the area Sunday spotted the cat, scooped him up and delivered him to SPCA volunteers in Barriere. The cat was transported back to Kamloops and taken to the animal hospital, where it is being treated for its injuries.

As of Tuesday, he still hadn’t been reunited with its owner, who also had another cat, a rabbit and a dog in the home. Crisp is optimistic the woman was able to gather up the other animals when she was evacuated from her home Thursday evening. She found no signs of animal remains in or near the home.

The former neighbor and SPCA are both trying to track the woman to let her know Lou (or whatever its real name is) is still alive.

Lou is just one of hundreds of animals affected by the wildfire crisis.

It’s important to realize that if animals are going to survive when disaster strikes, many cannot do it alone, Crisp said.

Cats are often left behind in the case of fires and other disasters, Crisp said. They’re much more independent animals that don’t tend to come running when called – even if there is a mass evacuation underway. They could be out hunting and not want to be bothered with humans. Indoor cats are known to recognize the trauma and bolt or hide.

PITCHING IN

Crisp lives in Sacramento, Calif., and drove into Kamloops on Aug. 1 to pitch in. She has been involved in disaster work for animals for more than 20 years. She has participated in animal rescues in 55 major disasters throughout the world, the largest being Hurricane Andrew, which devastated parts of Florida in 1992.

It’s her high degree of expertise in setting up animal tracking systems, soliciting community support and funding, as well as developing volunteer bases that have proven invaluable to the Kamloops branch of the B.C. SPCA during this recent crisis, said SPCA superintendent Jennifer Gore.

Gore applauded Crisp and the rest of the Noah’s Wish group, noting that there were about 30 trained volunteers – at the peak – helping in this disaster.

‘INVALUABLE’

“It’s just been an incredible resource for us,” Gore said. “They’ve been invaluable.”

Crisp received a call for help Friday, Aug. 1, as forest fires spread out of control and town after town in the North Thompson and Okanagan areas were evacuated.

Her relatively new group – Noah’s Wish – has 20 co-ordinators in the U.S. and two in Canada (one in Creston and the other in Penticton). It was Penticton co-ordinator Deborah Silk who first alerted Crisp to this disaster and called her in for backup.

Silk and a team of volunteers had set up a temporary shelter in 100 Mile House, at a local ranch, to start housing livestock being hauled north from the McLure, Louis Creek and Barriere area. That shelter was still operating this week, but was expected to close on Friday.

Anyway, Crisp was still driving from Vancouver to 100 Mile House on Aug. 1 when she was redirected to Kamloops. Many evacuees from the McLure fire were heading into Kamloops and now the Strawberry Hill fire was forcing new evacuations. Her help was needed more there.

Silk continued to co-ordinate the efforts in 100 Mile House with the aid of community volunteers, while Crisp and fellow Sacramento co-ordinator Charlie Crosby presented themselves as volunteers in Kamloops.

Other co-ordinators from Maryland and Virginia joined them a short time later. A team of about 25 from Penticton showed up soon after.

The Noah’s Wish team and its extensive experience with disasters created an immediate sense of relief at the local SPCA, Crisp said.

By Aug. 2, SPCA volunteers were already exhausted and even though all the basic services and procedures were in place to cope with the disaster, it would have been much less organized or structured without the help and ideas presented by the Noah team, Gore said.

Crisp isn’t willing to take that much credit.

“They (the SPCA) had been doing a real good job. They were really quick to respond and identify the needs. We just came in to fine tune it and fill in the gaps, “ Crisp said. “When we can do that, we can help save more animals. And that’s what we’re all about.”

Her team, for instance, was instrumental in setting up a registering system for livestock arriving at the KXA exhibition grounds. But Crisp said the SPCA had already started using the large facilities to house livestock and they had cleared out the shelter and were using it only for evacuated pets. They were also quick to find foster homes for as many of the already stressed animals that would not respond well to being confined to a cage.

Several Noah volunteers helped at the SPCA shelter on Eighth Street, while others participated in rescues in the North Thompson during the pat week.

In many ways, Crisp said this was a typical disaster for her and her teammates. It required Noah’s participation for the average of 10 to 14 days.

Most of the team pulled out of town Tuesday, including Crisp. Leaving only a few behind to help care for livestock still at the KXA.

FEW LEFT BEHIND

What made this disaster a little different from others, she said, was the fact that most of the animals were brought in by evacuees who needed assistance caring for their critters.

In other disasters, she said, it has been more typical for Noah’s to be involved in the rescue of animals because they’ve been left behind intentionally.

“This time we haven’t seen many left behind, and what we are seeing is animals that can’t be moved easily or pets such as cats that can’t be caught quickly.”

RESCUES MAKE WORK REWARDING FOR NOAH’S WISH

This was Crisp’s second largest disaster when dealing with the sheer volume of animals. During Hurricane Andrew, she handled close to 5,000 animals. In this disaster, it’s believed there were approximately 1,200 animals aided.

Working with a professional and committed team of volunteers who love animals helps make Crisp’s job easier. But time and time again, she said, it’s the stories about touching animal rescues or reunions that make it most rewarding.

She started Noah’s Wish in March 2002, after working for another animal protection agency since 1998, where she headed up their animal disaster relief.

She claims it is the only non-profit agency that deals exclusively with mobilizing volunteers to help evacuate animals from disasters such as flood, earthquake and fire.

Each member of the Noah’s Wish team must complete a three-day intense training session before participating in a disaster. About 25 of the volunteers who pitched in at Kamloops were from Penticton and only completed their training in May.

Her group’s popularity and momentum in B.C. is growing faster than she expected. There are already three more training session set in Canada in the coming 14 months, starting with one in October in Cochrane, one in Vancouver in May and another in Penticton again in September 2004.

Now, given the tremendous interest and response form Kamloops residents, Crisp said she wouldn’t be surprise if she’s back up in the Okanagan – North Thompson area within the next few weeks to offer another training session here.

Member of the Noah’s Wish team were returning home Tuesday, but many are still on alert. Another forest fire in Crowsnest Pass, Alta., is reported to be flaring up again and may require re-evacuation of resident and pets in that community. Noah’s Wish, Crisp said, will be prepared to respond.

For more information about the newly formed group, visit their Web site at: www.noahswish.org