Wildfires are burning in the area of Safari West, a private park that’s home to 900 animals in California.
The park has rhinos, cheetahs, giraffes and other animals from Africa. It bills itself as the Sonoma Serengeti.
Staff were ordered evacuated over the weekend but some were allowed to return to check on the animals Monday.
As of late Monday, staff at the park found that the fences of Safari West were still standing and the animals were contained and accounted for.
At no point were fences cut and animals released, according to a FB statement from the park.
The situation remains dynamic and highly dangerous and fires are burning in the vicinity. We will continue to provide updates as new information becomes available.
Firefighters were on the site Monday to extinguish spot fires around the 400-acre preserve and staff from all around the region from Oakland to San Francisco to Sacramento were on standby to assist in evacuations of the 900 animals or provide vet care.
While the imminent fire danger appears to be over, some animals could be suffering from smoke inhalation.
