Carmel Magazine

Response, Rescue and Reunion SPC A for Monterey County Ser ves Animals Displaced by Wildfires B Y R E N E E B R I N C K S Photo: Kelli Uldall C lare Nicholson remembers standing outside her home in August, talking with a neighbor about flames that had just erupted in their Carmel Valley neigh- borhood. The fire was moving swiftly, so she decided to evacuate. Nicholson was on crutch- es after breaking her leg, but she went in and gathered what she could with the help of her youngest daughter. Outside, trees exploded, and smoke dark- ened the skies. "It looked like bombs being dropped," says Nicholson. "Within those few minutes, the fire was coming down the mountainside…My 12- year-old, who is brilliant, ran around and grabbed some photo albums. She grabbed one of the cats, but he jumped straight out of the car. I had my two dogs, and our other three cats bolted." Armed with just some medical supplies, a few impor tant papers and meaningful keep- sakes that her youngest gathered on behalf of her two older sisters, Nicholson fled with her daughter and the dogs. "Days later, when I spoke with my neighbor who had stayed behind, he said my house had burnt down within 15 minutes," she says, "It hap- pened so quickly that the fire engines couldn't even get out there." The neighbor also mentioned that he'd noticed two of Nicholson's cats near a burned- out van on her property. Firefighters had spot- ted them, too. They alerted the SPCA for Monterey County, and the rescue team sent Grace, Imogen, Olivia and Clare Nicholson hold Gritz, Mango and Bubs. The family lost their home in the recent fire in Carmel Valley. The SPCA of Monterey County provided care for their injured pets. 120 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 2 1

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