San Bruno Gas Explosion
Update September 10, 2010:
WildCare staff and volunteers responded to the September 9 gas explosion in San Bruno, California. With the Emergecy Service vehicle, we are standing by to cooperate with local animal agencies as needed. No wildlife has yet been recovered from the fire (emergency crews are still assisting people and their pets), but we're at the ready.
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In 2009, WildCare officially launched the premier Bay Area emergency service dedicated to responding to large scale disasters affecting wildlife.
In the wake of the November 2007 Cosco Busan Oil Spill, WildCare served as the principal Bay Area triage center for oiled wildlife, treating more than 20% of the recovered oiled birds at our San Rafael facility (nearly 600 birds.) While we are extremely proud of our work to help save the wildlife affected by this disaster, we wanted to develop the capacity to do even more.
The Pitcairn Wildlife Emergency Service Vehicle is a fully equipped mobile medical hospital enables us to treat injured wild animals at a disaster site, potentially saving countless lives by eliminating the stress and often life-threatening time required to transport these animals for treatment.
Thanks to the John and Maria Pitcairn Foundation, the San Francisco Foundation and a third anonymous foundation, WildCare will be able to reach wild animals in distress wherever they fall, providing on-site emergency medical services when major wildlife disasters strike like flood, fire and, of course, oil spill.
WildCare is an integral member of California’s Oiled Wildlife Care Network (OWCN), a group of 25 organizations that maintain readiness and provide coordinated response when wildlife is affected by oil spills. We are also represented on OWCN’s nationally recruited Advisory Committee. This vehicle will be a valuable addition to OWCN's oil spill response capabilities.
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