Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Archives for August 2012

How to help

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We continue to be so touched by the outpouring of love and support we’ve received in the aftermath of the Taylor Bridge wildfire from well-wishers all over the world. The best way to help the sanctuary at this time is to make a monetary donation by clicking here.

While the sanctuary certainly suffered, and we have a long road ahead of us, it could have been a lot worse, and it has been a lot worse for many people. As of today, the fire is almost 40 square miles in size, and more than 70 homes and 200 outbuildings have been burned. The community has pulled together in amazing and inspiring ways to help the people and animals affected by the fire. We want to share some resources for those interested in contributing.

Donate:

*Make checks payable to Taylor Bridge Animal Rescue Fund and mail to:

Kittitas Valley Chamber of Commerce
609 N. Main St.
Ellensburg, WA 98926

*Donate to our local Red Cross by clicking here or calling 509-925-5866.  Or you can make a quick and easy $10 donation via your cell phone by texting REDCROSS to 90999.  The charge will be added to your next phone bill.

Stay connected and up-to-date:

Daily Record News
InciWeb Incident Information System
Community Connect, Kittitas County (Facebook group)
Taylor Bridge Fire Animal Recovery (Facebook group)

The story of the fire part 1

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It’s difficult to know just what to do right now. Things still feel overwhelming, but are slowly getting back to normal. Soon we’ll be able to sit down and talk about how we can be even more prepared for future emergencies – equipment we might need, etc. In the meantime, I felt that it was important to document what happened while it was still fresh in our minds. So, here goes part one:

Monday started out like any other summer day in Cle Elum. It was hot and windy. Jackie and Elizabeth were working in the chimp house. They were planning on using an exciting new donation – a snow cone maker – to make a special treat for the chimps during the peak of the heat in the afternoon.

J.B. and I had a day off, and I slept in. We live in the caregiver house on the sanctuary grounds, and we were planning on doing an easy hike in the afternoon. I was taking my time, making us later than planned (very typical). We finally let Jackie and Elizabeth know we were leaving the property and got into the car to drive to the trail head around 1:00. We smelled smoke, as though there was a brush fire close by, and we questioned (ok, cursed) why anyone would be burning this time of year under the dry and windy conditions.

When we reached the Taylor Bridge construction area to the west of the sanctuary grounds a couple of minutes later, we saw a flame under the half-reconstructed bridge. There were no fire crews. We pulled over and got out of the car. There was a construction crew member trying to shovel dirt on the fire and other crew members running around moving things out of the way. Another car pulled over near us and someone got out and was taking photos. The fire was quickly getting out of hand. I figured there would be a fire truck any minute and it would be all over. J.B. was clearly worried.

We turned the car around, drove a little ways back towards the sanctuary property, and pulled over again. We heard sirens approaching, and saw the fire engulf a tree, spreading flames many feet into the air. We were less than a mile from the chimp house. I was starting to get worried, but still thought things could be handled quickly with a fire truck. J.B. had entered a new state of worry and began implementing our emergency protocols. He called Elizabeth at the chimp house and told her the situation. He said she needed to bring the chimps into the building, which was designed to be fire-resistant, and close all of the doors and windows to seal out smoke, then she and Jackie should both start watering the grounds outside of the building. Then he called Sarah to let her know what was happening. She was at home in Roslyn, a town about 15 miles away.

We got back in the car and headed to the property as J.B. called our neighbors on both sides to warn them about the fire that was coming our way.

When we got home a minute later, we decided I would prepare to get our dog Honey B and  two cats, Peanut and Lou Lou, out of the house and J.B. would begin to water down the cedar shake roof of the house, then we’d go to the chimp house and help Jackie and Elizabeth, who had quickly gotten the chimps secured in the building and had the hoses out. I got the two cat carriers out from the garage and put them, along with Honey B’s leash, in the bathroom of the house and then went to the chimp house, where I joined in the watering of the grounds outside of the building. I reassured Elizabeth that it was all just a precaution and everything would be fine.

The smell of the smoke was getting stronger and we could see it rise above the trees. The wind was blowing northeast about 30 miles an hour. My sense of time was already becoming distorted, but it seemed like just minutes later when we saw a fire truck and a water tanker pull into our neighbor’s property to the west, about 1,000 feet away. Then we saw the ridge above his property in flames…

fire on ridge

Above photo: the flames on the ridge above our neighbor’s property

I am going to leave things here for now, but will continue the story soon. I don’t mean to leave it at a dramatic moment – I just want to get away from the computer and go say hello to the chimps. Luckily, you know it all ends with no one getting harmed.

Everyone in the path of the fire has their own story, some are nothing less than tragic. We encourage you to not only support the sanctuary’s road to recovery, but also reach out to help with donations to others in the area. We’ll be posting soon about how to do that.

UPDATE: Read Part 2

Still fighting (and playing!)

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I posted the below on our Facebook page about an hour ago. Our internet connection is off and on, and it seems easier to post there for some reason, so be sure to check our page and share our status updates that way: www.Facebook.com/ChimpSanctuary.

In that hour, we’ve fought off some more hot spots on and around our property and prepared for the next round. The winds were very minimal overnight and this morning, but have picked up again, making it easier for smoldering ground to turn into active flames. It’s all under control and we remain vigilant.

Here’s the update:

First and foremost, the chimpanzees are doing well. Perhaps slightly shell-shocked as evidenced by their staring at the grounds around the chimp house, but otherwise playful and very pleased with getting bottles of water and Gatorade. We are dealing with two major issues today:

1) the well water contamination, which we’re still working to figure out. In the meantime we are purchasing potable wat
er for the chimps and humans to drink and using non-potable water to spot clean inside the chimp house. Volunteers are taking laundry offsite to wash.

2) hot spots on the property by the driveway caused by tree roots that are still slowly burning. We are learning a lot about fire containment thanks to the help of Tim Perciful, who has provided advice and loaned us some tools. Our gator is now the official fire hot spot response vehicle!

We thank everyone who has helped by donating time and resources. If you want help, really the best way is to make financial donations (just click the donate button above or use this link: http://chimpsdonate.kintera.org/). We’ll continue to keep you updated!

Wednesday afternoon update

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Thanks once again for all the support and good wishes. We are feeling the love! Today was a busy day at the sanctuary – I’m excited to say that we have power! It wasn’t clear how long power was going to take (some estimates were that it would be several weeks) but we’re up and running. Great news there. We’re still working on a water issue (likely chemical contamination from water lines that were incinerated/melted in the fire) but the chimps are loving their gatorade and water bottles.

We’re also still fighting flare-ups on the property and our neighbors’ properties. JB and Diana (who live on the property and are back in the residence now that it’s been temporarily repaired) were awakened at 3am by their dog Honey B, who noticed a small fire up the hill on our neighbor’s property. JB, Diana, and a team of firefighters from Prosser put the fire out. Again, my heroes. Yesterday afternoon and again this afternoon, we fought a flare-up near the driveway of our property. Volunteers Pam and Connie got more than they bargained for but flew into action helping JB, Diana, Jackie and me put it out. I’ll say again that the worst is behind us and the chimps are safe, but we’re not out of the figurative woods yet. My heart was racing as I was wrestling with the big water jugs, and once again I am reminded of the incredible courage it took to weather the night on Monday.

We’ve put flare-up monitoring protocols in place to make sure we stay on top of these small fires, and we’ve had good advice from experts.

On a brighter note, when we were sure that the flare-up this afternoon was under control, i was walking up to the chimp house (JB and Diana were still monitoring and Pam, Connie and Jackie were refilling the water jugs and loading up the gator) I saw that the chimps were huddled in the greenhouse watching very closely. I thought to myself that I’d better go say hi and let them know everyone was ok. Jody came right over and gave me a breathy pant and requested a kiss on the back of my wrist. I looked up at her and made eye contact and felt pretty emotional about all the chimps have seen and experienced in the past few days.

Jody finished her kiss and turned away and then the greenhouse literally burst into play. There was laughing, wrestling, chasing galore. I have no idea if they were waiting for the “all clear” before getting back to their business (of playing) or if it was totally random or unrelated, but I have to say that a bunch of joyful happy chimps was exactly what I needed to see at that moment. What amazing, resilient survivors they are, in so many senses of the word.

Update

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Hi everyone. We’re still doing fine here, and I’m writing this with generator power so I’ll keep it quick. The danger to the sanctuary has passed, but we’re watching tanker planes and helicopters try to put out fires all around the area. The wind is blowing and things are pretty smokey. Our hearts go out to those who have lost their homes in this devastating emergency.

I can’t tell everyone how proud I am of our team and how grateful I am to our local authorities. We just sent a newsletter update which I’m pasting below. THANK YOU to everyone who has reached out with offers of support and assistance. What an amazing family these chimpanzees have.

Here’s the newsletter update, and please check our Facebook page (facebook.com/chimpsanctuary) for the photos.

On the afternoon of Monday August 13, the Taylor Bridge wildfire spread through the hills surrounding Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest. The fire spread very quickly and engulfed much of the sanctuary property and many of the neighboring properties. The cause of the blaze is not yet known and it continues to spread for miles beyond the sanctuary. We have not had time to make a full accounting of the effects of the fire, but the residence on the property is damaged and the grounds are burned.

Fortunately all seven of the chimpanzees weathered the crisis and are doing fine. They are comfortable, safe and fully secure inside the chimp house.

While most staff and volunteers were evacuated during the emergency, J.B. Mulcahy, Director of Operations, remained on the premises to stay with the Cle Elum Seven and prepare to work with the firefighters to ensure the chimpanzees and the building remained safe. His courage and dedication to the Seven are, as always, an enormous and immeasurable gift.

At the peak of the fire, the chimp house was well protected by fire trucks and helicopters from the Kittitas County Fire Department, who banded together to help the sanctuary and the surrounding properties (see photos below). One of the tireless firefighters had thought that he lost his own home to the fire while he was protecting the chimpanzees – thankfully, his house withstood the fire and he came back this morning to help once again.

We are tremendously grateful to all of the firefighters for their courage, service and support, and our thoughts are with everyone in our community who continue to be affected by the fire.

Natural events like wildfire cannot be anticipated or avoided in this region, but CSNW plans for every possible emergency and followed the protocols set in place for wildfires. The building was constructed with non-combustible materials to withstand fire, and we maintain a defensible perimeter around the building. We are deeply relieved that there was no loss of life, and thank all of our supporters for your outpouring of love and offers of help.

It will take some time to regroup and assess the full damages to the property. We do not have any immediate needs for onsite assistance, and are asking that all current volunteers contact Elizabeth ([email protected]) before coming to the sanctuary. As always, and particularly during a crises, donations are welcome and can be made on our website: ChimpsNW.org (direct link for online donations: http://chimpsdonate.kintera.org/.

We appreciate your continued support for the Cle Elum Seven, and we will keep you updated through our blog and on our Facebook page as we learn more in the days ahead.

Gratefully,
The CSNW Staff and Board of Directors

Fire update # 2

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Thanks to everyone for your emails and comments. The chimps are fine. A large part of the sanctuary grounds burned in the fire, but the chimp building is ok. We don’t have any more information to share on the rest of the property, but will update tomorrow when things are clearer. JB stayed with the chimps throughout the fire, after everyone was asked to evacuate. He is the true hero of the day! I couldn’t be prouder of our team and how perfectly they handled this emergency.

Fire update

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There is a fast moving wildfire in our immediate area, and has burned portions of the sanctuary’s property. The chimpanzees and humans are all safe and the worst seems to have passed. JB just served dinner and the chimps are happy. We’ll provide updates as soon as we can assess the situation, but what’s important is that everyone is fine and the immediate danger has passed. A million thanks to the firefighters protecting the chimp building!