Residents fleeing the Palisades Fire evacuated large and small animals to an emergency shelter at Pierce College in Woodland Hills on Tuesday.
Balthazar Perez, who works with his wife and sons on a Malibu ranch, hauled dozens of horses he knows by name: Blue, Mr. Impossible, Rocky, Rifle, Cowboy, Ethel, Lucy. He also packed trailers with his dogs, chickens a tortoise, and a plastic box of baby chicks.
Balthazar Perez and his dog, Tiny, sit on a hay bale and watch horses mill about a large corral. Photo by Robin Estrin.
Balthazar Perez and his son unload small animals from a trailer after evacuating to Pierce College from the Malibu hills. Photo by Robin Estrin.
Balthazar Perez’s baby chickens. Photo by Robin Estrin.
Robert Nava, from Calabasas, evacuated 100 horses as soon as he saw wind pick up. His last horse was moved to safety at 1:30 a.m. Wednesday. He didn't get much sleep, since he checked on the horses at 6:00 a.m.
Nava also asked his Facebook community for help. “We say we need trailers, and people are like, ‘Where? We're sending.’ So we just get a lot of volunteers,” he says.
The caretakers shared a common strategy: leaving early, since moving animals often requires lots of work. 
Balthazar Perez evacuated from the Palisades Fire with about two dozen horses and this miniature donkey. Photo by Robin Estrin.
Now Pierce College is at capacity.
Those who are still looking for a place to board animals can check with:
- Castaic Animal Care Center
- Lancaster Animal Care Center
- Industry Hills Expo
- Pomona Fairplex
For a full list, check out https://animalcare.lacounty.gov/