CHICO, Calif. (KRCR) — The Chico Municipal Airport has acted as an emergency animal shelter since the beginning of the Camp Fire, over a week ago.
The North Valley Animal Disaster Group is in charge of the operation. Cages filled with dogs are spread across the airport's lobby floor. They're separated by cardboard and blankets that give them privacy and keep them calm.
Many of the animals have been there since the first day of the Camp Fire and are anxious to go home.
The volunteers have been busy day after day, handling the donated items, as Brian Whipple, Operations Manager for Sonoma County Animal Services, explained.
"We're kind of packaging them up so we can get them out of the rain that's coming this week, don't want the food to get spoiled and what not. The rest of the items that are here, there's a huge piece where people can come down and get any supplies they need for their pets," Whipple said.
The North Valley Animal Disaster Group is not only working to reunite lost pets with their owners, but also to house the pets that owners can't keep while evacuated.
1,635 animals are being housed at four different shelters following the Camp Fire in Butte County.
