A surge of community volunteers helped place more than 150 animals into foster homes Sunday after wildfires forced evacuations at two Alachua County shelters.
Wildfires along North Main Street and State Road 121 on Sunday spread flames and heavy smoke, burning more than 100 acres in some areas, according to the Florida Forest Service. Concerns for animal safety prompted the evacuation of animals from the Humane Society of North Central Florida and Alachua County Animal Services.
The evacuations began Sunday afternoon after the Humane Society’s executive director received an alert about a nearby wildfire around 2:30 p.m. The organization posted an urgent call for foster homes on social media as employees and volunteers prepared supplies and readied animals for evacuation.
“We have never done an evacuation within hours,” said Franziska Raeber, director of development at the Humane Society, noting that with hurricanes, evacuations are typically planned two to three days in advance.
With fires burning near the shelters, animals were moved into foster homes to keep them safe.
By 5:30 p.m., all 40 dogs and 18 cats at the shelter had been placed into foster homes, with more people volunteering to foster a pet than there were animals available, according to Raeber.
Alachua County Animal Services also posted calls for foster homes later Sunday.
Cameron Hamley, a University of Florida sophomore who previously volunteered at Alachua County Animal Services, said she went there after seeing calls for fosters. She took home a 2-year-old boxer named Francis.
“It was so smoky near campus, and the shelter is closer to the fires and has all the kennels outside, so when I saw they were looking for emergency fosters, I just started driving over there.”
Hamley said when she arrived, dozens of people had already gathered outside the shelter to help.
Another volunteer, Lauren Kenney, 20, said the turnout continued into the night. She took home a pit bull named Daisy.
“I waited in line, and it was out the door around 9 p.m., even though they were supposed to close at 9:30. People were still there past 11,” she said.
Hundreds of people came to the shelter to help foster more than 90 animals, according to a Facebook post by Alachua County Animal Services.
At a Monday afternoon press conference, Alachua County Fire Rescue officials said crews made progress containing the fires. The county declared a state of emergency to bring in additional resources. Raeber said some animals have since returned to the shelter as operations resume.
“We’re extremely grateful for our amazing community — the immediate response was so comforting,” Raeber said.