Hidden Rescuers found a reassuring hint that all was not lost among the smoking wreckage of an area decimated by the largest wildfire in California’s history.
He was also pleased to see them, boy.
On Monday, while patrolling areas affected by the Camp Fire that were evacuated due to massive blaze, a crew from the Foster City Fire Department heard a sound they could not ignore — the desperate cries of a creature holed up under a bush.
It was a cat, but his species mattered little. First and foremost, he was a survivor in need of help. And the rescuers were happy to offer it.
The cat was understandably frightened at first, his seared whiskers and burned paws evidence that he’d had a brush with death. But soon the cat’s demeanor changed upon realizing his ordeal was finally over.
Firefighter Geoff Downing was able to coax the cat from his hiding spot, taking him warmly into his arm. In that moment, the rescuer and rescuee shared the same feelings of relief and joy.
They’d both found hope.
“[An] instant friendship was formed,” the fire department wrote online.
To help the cat restore his vigor, food and drink were supplied.
He was given the nickname “Foster” by the firefighters, and Foster in turn gave them another cause to grin.
He picked Downing to be his perch.
Foster’s appreciation was evident, but his rescuers’ greatest pleasure was getting the chance to save a life.
The fire brigade stated that “Scenarios like this will frequently bolster the morale of firemen who have, for days, experienced nothing but misery and ruin.”
And it manifested.
Foster was then sent to the North Valley Animal Disaster Group for medical attention. And perhaps from there the cat will soon be reunited with his family.
A fire department official told The Dodo on Thursday: “There have been promising leads, and I’m hoping maybe today will be the day we find out some good news.”
Stories like this one give much-needed encouragement that hope still exists to both rescuers and people affected by the fire, even if the entire scope of what was destroyed in the fire is still being calculated as firefighters continue their rescue and recovery work.
