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Redwood City — As a long August evening turned to night, Cindy Bertsch remembers a “glowing red towering smoke plume” rising with a sense of menace as cars and trucks pulled into an evacuation center in Pescadero.
People arrived with loose dogs and rabbits, frightened cats, flapping chickens and parakeets, panicked hamsters and coiled snakes, a kind of rolling Noah’s Ark. No leashes, cages, food or other supplies, just people fleeing with their beloved pets.
“Looking back at the terrifying firestorm where the people had come from showed why they had to leave so fast,” Bertsch said. “There was disbelief that a fire could grow so fast in their tight-knit community.”
As the 2020 CZU Lightning Complex fire scorched the coastal hills, Bertsch, a volunteer with the American Red Cross, spent days gathering leashes, cat litter, food bowls and anything she could to help pets and their owners.
She’s seen firsthand how quickly disaster can unfold, and how a few simple steps taken today can prevent a mad scramble in the dark and possibly save a pet’s life.
Bertsch will share her pet-preparedness tips at San Mateo County’s 21st Annual Disaster Preparedness Day on Saturday, Aug. 2. The free event will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the San Mateo County Event Center.*
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