Amador County Fairgrounds Acts As Animal Evacuation Center Amid Electra Fire

JACKSON (CBS13) — As the Electra Fire rips through areas around the Mokelumne River, crews are working to gain control of it and keep people and their pets out of harm's way.

A pack of Pyrenees and goats were headed to the Amador County Fairgrounds after mandatory evacuation orders were issued due to the Electra Fire.

"What we tell folks is to have a game plan, especially for their pets: crates, food, water, blankets, if need be," Evan Jacobs said.

Jacobs works with Amador County Animal Control which oversees shelter operations there. He says, if you have to leave with pets or livestock, have these things ready: "ID, microchip information, vaccine info, always helps, but there is an intake process that we do and we can get that pertinent info."

By midday, there were about fifty animals housed at the fairgrounds including two horses and a whole building full of cats, dogs and other small animals — but they have room for hundreds if need be.

"It's traveling from Electra Road, the river goes east, and that's exactly what it's doing. It's just following that canyon," said Amador County Sheriff Gary W. Redman.

Redman is monitoring the situation along with fire crews fighting challenging conditions.

"It's down a very windy, narrow, steep road and there's quite a bit of vegetation in that area that's making it real hard to access," a Cal Fire spokesperson said. "It's very steep drainage."

The fairgrounds is a staging area for fire crews and for those looking for shelter for their furry friends.

"It helps those owners to make sure they know their animals are cared for so they can focus on everything else that is going on with the incident," Jacobs said.

As of Tuesday, the Electra Fire grew to more than 3,000 acres with no containment.