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Mission Viejo Animal Services describes rescue, evacuations and partnerships after Palisades fire
Summary
Mission Viejo Animal Services told the council it deployed personnel to the Palisades fire, conducted searches and rescues — including evacuating 29 koi and reuniting animals with owners — and forged partnerships with national animal welfare organizations to improve future disaster response.
Brynn Laevison, director of Mission Viejo Animal Services, told the City Council the department deployed officers on mutual aid to respond to the fast-moving Palisades fire and to help residents and animals left behind.
"As soon as we received our emergency management mutual aid request, we deployed our team of officers up to LA to assist," Laevison said. She described officers' roles on an incident management team and the department's two-week deployment to the area.
Lieutenant Kyle Werner, who served as deputy chief of field operations, gave specific examples of the team's work, saying officers handled hundreds of calls focused on animal search-and-rescue, evacuations and in-place care. "Animal evacuations 1 of our more interesting evacuations was evacuating 29 koi fish," Werner said, noting specialists were brought in to advise on safely moving the fish and that the koi are temporarily housed until the owner secures a permanent home.
Werner recounted difficult recoveries and reunions — one dog, Penelope, was recovered about 23 days after the incident — and officers performed rescues including pulling a cat from under a house. Laevison said the department also aided injured wildlife and worked with local wildlife centers.
Laevison said the deployment produced new working relationships with national groups including the ASPCA, the International Fund for Animal Welfare and the American Humane Society, and she introduced the staff who deployed. She also noted a recent rework of a multi-city disaster plan intended to improve evacuation, sheltering and coordinated response for pets and livestock.
Council members expressed appreciation; no questions were raised during the presentation. Laevison closed by urging residents to consider adopting animals made available through mutual-aid transfers — the department brought one adoptable dog from LA and said the city’s Mission for Home program, sponsored by Dedicated Animal Welfare Group, supports placements.
