Earlier, officials said that some 50,000 animals across the province are affected by evacuation orders or alerts.<\/p>\n
Mckenna Robson had to evacuate Summerland and leave her 14 alpacas behind. Luckily, she said the animals survived. But their hay, barns and water sources are all gone, she told CBC News earlier today.<\/p>\n
The alpacas were in the middle of their field, huddled together when she found them \u2014 after racing to get back and check on them, she said.<\/p>\n
“They looked scared, but they made it.”<\/p>\n
As wildfires rage, all sorts of animals are affected, including cats, dogs, horses, lizards, fish and birds, and in many cases they’re left behind.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That’s where the Animal Lifeline Emergency Response Team, or ALERT, steps in.<\/p>\n
The team of volunteers goes into evacuated areas \u2014 once they’re given permission to do so safely \u2014 and will care for animals still present.<\/p>\n
Daryl Meyers, ALERT’s information officer and president, said they’ve had almost 300 requests to go in and feed people’s animals.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“We have been inundated with people who have had to, of course, leave their homes and have left their animals behind,” Meyers said.\u00a0<\/p>\n