and people scramble to get away, Deanna Bell was thinking about the animals.
Bell, who is a registered massage therapist up in Houston, was talking with one of her clients about all the wild animals fleeing the fires.
鈥淭he magnitude has been unfathomable. There鈥檚 the three large fires that are circling everybody,鈥� she told Black Press Media by phone Sunday.
鈥淚 thought, that鈥檚 great that all the wildlife can get away but what about everything that鈥檚 behind a fence? All the horse, all the cows鈥� I鈥檓 an animal lover.鈥�
So Bell set out to see what she could do to help.
Turns out, quite a bit.
She called the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako who told her that anyone with farm status was already able to apply for help.
But that left behind a lot of people.
鈥淭here鈥檚 two qualifications: you either have farm status or you鈥檙e considered a hobbyist,鈥� said Bell.
鈥淎round the south side of 亚洲天堂 Lake, everybody has three chickens, four dogs, a pig, a goat and an alpaca.鈥�
| Evacuated horses enjoy some peace and quiet. (Northwest Forest Fires Support Network) |
It鈥檚 that random assortment of animals that Bell, along with her mother Jocelyn, has set out to help.
At first, it seemed almost too much to handle
鈥淪o as the days continued and we began coordinating, it became a monster,鈥� said Bell ruefully.
鈥淚 have 30 pages of handwritten notes and emails and text messages.鈥�
So on the advice of a friend, she set up the on Facebook and that was only $180 short of its $10,000 goal on Sunday afternoon.
For locals, there is a donation account set up at the Bulkley Valley Credit Union.
鈥淪o instead of having a paper copy, I was getting everyone on my list to post on there,鈥� Bell said.
鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 just me being the middleman. The public had access.鈥�
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So far, between Bell handling the larger animals and Jason Jubinville from P & B Feeds in 亚洲天堂 Lake, who is handling the smaller ones, they鈥檝e relocated 1,200 animals.
In total, Bell thinks that there鈥檚 around 9,000 cows, sheep, goats and pigs on hobby farms in evacuation alert areas.
Although it鈥檚 a gargantuan task, Bell said the community has stepped up to help.
鈥淥ne lady messages me and says 鈥業 don鈥檛 have money, I don鈥檛 have a place for animals but I鈥檓 going to go to all my neighbours and collect all their fruit,鈥� said Bell.
But hay is expensive. The $10,000 GoFundMe goal will only pay for two liner-loads of hay.
鈥淚t鈥檚 super expensive but if everybody just threw in $20鈥︹��
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