California is on fire. You'll be relieved to know that as of 4 PM PDT, the animals at the San Diego Wild Animal Park are safe. Some of the more endangered animals have been moved to the Park's veterinary hospital, but for the most part the Park's fire break and irrigated areas have been well tended. The San Jose Mercury News has a brief article: "San Diego's Wild Animal Park animals are safe and staying put," from the Associated Press (10/22/07).

However, despite the lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina, a bunch of people who were forced to flee their homes and ended up at Qualcomm Stadium ended up staying out in the parking lots, because their pets were BANNED. This tidbit is also from the San Jose Mercury News, in the article "Southern California fires force evacuations from Malibu to Mexico," published at 6 AM PDT, 10/22/07.

What happened to the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards (PETS) Act, which was signed into law a year ago? It requires that emergency preparedness plans include consideration of people with pets and service animals before a disaster strikes. Isn't it common knowledge at this point that people will put themselves in danger, rather than risk the lives of their pets? Isn't Qualcomm Stadium breaking the law by making these people stay outside an official evacuation center?

People can be so stupid sometimes.

UPDATE: I just got word from somebody in San Diego that there are some evacuation centers that are accepting pets. That's a relief.