October 12, 2017
Continue to check this page daily for the latest updates on UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine activities surrounding the Napa area fires.
Many of the fire victims we treat are from families who have lost everything. Please consider donating to the SVM Veterinary Catastrophic Need Fund to help treat animals affected by these wildfires.
October 11, 2017
A UC Davis veterinary student helps load a llama into a trailer at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds
Once again today, the School of Veterinary Medicine was called upon to help treat animals in the fire zone of the Napa area fires. A team of large animal veterinarians, students and staff met early this morning, developed a gameplan for the day, and deployed to the zone.
Today’s fire-related activities:
• Overnight, the UC Davis veterinary hospital took in two llamas and two horses. The animals were suffering from burns and smoke inhalation. Due to the severity of wounds, one of the llamas was euthanized with owner consent.
• Teams deployed:
- Equine Field Service sent one resident veterinarian and two students to the Sonoma County Fairgrounds.
- Veterinary Emergency Response Team sent one faculty veterinarian, one staff emergency responder and five students to the Sonoma County Fairgrounds.
- Livestock Herd Health (Field) Service sent one faculty veterinarian, two resident veterinarians and two students to the Solano County Fairgrounds.
- Dr. Karen Vernau transported emergency medical supplies to Santa Rosa at the request of Sonoma County Animal Services and the California Department of Food and Agriculture.
Today’s media activities:
• ABC10 ran an article on yesterday’s activities
• Chronicle of the Horse included VERT in article
• UC Davis News ran an article on yesterday’s and today’s activities
• Drs. Eric Davis and John Madigan were interviewed by CBS13
• Dr. John Madigan was interviewed by the New York Times
• Drs. Steve Epstein and John Madigan were interviewed by Capital Public Radio
October 10, 2017
As wildfires rage throughout California, the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM) is prepared to assist state/county officials and animal owners however necessary. The SVM has an experienced team of emergency response professionals ready to take action, both on campus and in the field.
“As a community, I know we all grieve the loss and devastation associated with the multitude of fires in Northern California that our regional neighbors are experiencing,” said Michael Lairmore, dean of the SVM. “As in times of natural disaster, we stand ready to assist with the animal victims and their owners caught in the path of these fires. We have a number of activities already underway and resources available to respond to official county and state requests.”
Steps the SVM has already taken in response to current wildfires:
• The veterinary hospital’s Equine Field Service has responded to a request from Sonoma County and deployed a team to the Sonoma County Fairgrounds to provide veterinary care assistance (1 resident/3 students).
• The veterinary hospital has engaged its Disaster Response Leadership Team and has initiated action to put the hospital on stand-by. Preparations to accept and treat animal fire victims are in progress.
• The Veterinary Emergency Response Team (VERT) is on stand-by to deploy once an official state/county request is initiated. VERT will respect the first responders incident command and wait for official request for deployment to ensure the safety of all involved.
• Dr. Claudia Sonder, the Center for Equine Health’s outreach director, who lives in the Napa area, is coordinating with local veterinarians to provide medical assistance in the field.
• The SVM is coordinating with the California Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) and will respond to requests for assistance. CVMA has established a resource page dedicated to how people can help.
Other SVM resources:
• The Center for Equine Health has developed materials to assist horse owners facing possible evacuation:
• The Western Institute for Food Safety and Security has developed disaster preparedness materials.
• Please consider donating to the SVM Veterinary Catastrophic Need Fund to help treat animals affected by these wildfires.
Non-SVM resources:
• CalFire – latest resource and evacuation information
• Red Cross – wildfire relief
“As a community, we will help the best we can through multiple avenues and efforts, keeping coordinated and working within the program leadership that we have established to ensure the best possible response,” added Lairmore.