A barn owl is on the road to recovery Wednesday after being singed by flames from the massive Silverado Fire in Orange County.
The large bird was rescued by an Orange County Fire Authority firefighting crew on a brush rig Tuesday evening, according to the OCFA.
“He’s safe and sound,” the agency said in a tweet.
The Fire Authority released video showing the majestic bird wrapped up in yellow fire gear as a firefighter lifted him up from the ground.
The crew then alerted animal control about the injured bird.
“We’ll get you some help, buddy,” one of the firefighters can be heard telling the owl after the radio call, according to the footage.
Animal control initially took custody of the barn owl, but he is now being treated for burns at the Serrano Animal and Bird Hospital in Lake Forest.
“This is our first victim of the Silverado Canyon Fires. After an exam by our doctors, it was determined that most of his injuries are burned feathers. We are not sure how bad his smoke inhalation damage is,” the animal hospital said in a Facebook post.
The owl will likely be there for months until he gets new feathers, at which point they’ll be able to release him, the post stated.
The Silverado Fire is one of two wind-driver wildfires that began in Orange County Monday and forced tens of thousands of residents to evacuate their homes. The blaze, which is burning near Irvine, has charred about 13,354 acres and is 25% contained as of Wednesday morning, according to Cal Fire.
