Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1314457
was suddenly on the road 24 hours a day," says Brookhouser. With hundreds more animals in need of shel- ter, the SPCA opened additional evacuation centers in Salinas, King City, Marina and Mon- terey. More than 130 staffers and volunteers did their best to maintain proper coronavirus-pre- vention protocols while serving the public. As they assisted residents fleeing the wildfires, several members of the SPCA team were forced from their own homes. They coordinated disaster response efforts from hotel rooms and the spare bedrooms of family and friends. By August 22, with flames moving toward the orga- nization's main location, SPCA officials decided to vacate their own facility, as well. "We've been at that proper ty since the late 1960s, and we've never had to evacuate," says Brookhouser. "We never had an official evacu- ation order, but we had more than 500 animals at our shelter. We didn't want to risk leaving any animals behind or risk the lives of our staff and volunteers." The SPCA quickly expanded its presence at the Monterey County Fair & Event Center, sep- arating horses, chickens, dogs, exotic pets and other species into venues across the grounds. Team members worked from the fairgrounds for four days, and then slowly reunited owners with animals and resumed normal operations at the Monterey-Salinas Highway shelter. (Top) A rescued rooster receives an emergency health evaluation at the SPCA. (Bottom) a sheep and goat at the Marina Equestrian Center, opened as an overflow shelter location, along with 6 other temporary spaces. C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 2 1 125 Photos: Courtesy of SPCA Monterey County