Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/calf-saved-from-fires/

The West Coast of the US has seen some really bad wildfires in the last few weeks, and firefighters have been tirelessly battling the flames with almost no end in sight. But there is a small victory to be had in the face of all the destruction, and that is that a few firefighters were able to save a baby calf from becoming a fire victim.

Over the weekend, firefighters from the Douglas Forest Protective Association shared that they were able to save the small cow from death as they took on the fires that were raging through a field of blueberries. They shared the harrowing tale on their Facebook, citing that they’ve been through a lot, but they were extremely grateful for this bit of good news.

The fire they were fighting was the French Creek Fire, which had burned 495 acres a mile northwest of Glide. The area where they were fighting the fire included an area with five cows and a calf. The bovines were stuck, and the fire was creeping closer. The little calf somehow managed to get stuck in a patch of blackberries that were burning! But luckily for the baby cow, the fire truck nearby was able to tame the flames, and they were able to rescue the calf.

As the crew wrote on their Facebook, “It was one small victory but we’ll take it.”

Officials in Oregon still have not released the total number of those affected by the fires. However, Kate Brown, the governor, has already stated that these recent fires have the potential to be the “greatest loss of human lives and property” in Oregon’s history.

In Oregon alone, there have been roughly 1,500 square miles that have burned – double what a normal wildfire year looks like! And in total, there are an estimated 4.6 million acres of damage on the West Coast.

One woman affected, Elizabeth Smith, shared with KATU-TV that her family has lost everything in the fires – including the home that the family had remodeled 12 years ago. She hasn’t seen the damage in person, but she’s seen a few videos and photos of the canyon area where her home was located, and according to Smith, “it looks as though a bomb went off.”

Across California there are 25 wildfires, while in Washington there are 16, and Oregon is facing 13. There are even 10 wildfires raging in Idaho. But those aren’t the only states engulfed in flames. As CNN reports, there are also fires going in Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. But California perhaps has the worst of it, with three of their biggest wildfires they’ve ever seen burning, happening all at the same time!

Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog