Firefighters face fear all the time, but this was something different.
Southern California crews battling the Lake Fire on Friday were chased by a bull — known locally as Ferdinand — while they cleared a road.
“#LakeFire Ferdinand the Bull wasn’t clowning around,” the Ventura County Fire Department tweeted. “Luckily no one was injured and #Ferdinand went about his day.”
The tweet included a short video clip of a handful of helmeted firemen steering clear of the bull’s wide horns.
Some residents on Twitter suggested the bull is actually one called Maxwell and that, regardless, the animal was probably just scared by the blaze near Lake Hughes.
Late Friday, an Instagram account for L.A. County firefighters posted an image of a bull similar to the one shown in the Ventura County Fire Department video with the message, “This sweet boy is safe and resting comfortably.”
The Lake Fire continues to burn amid a heat wave Saturday after exploding mid-week in the Lake Hughes area of northwest L.A. County. Authorities have not reported any injuries to firefighters but said the blaze has destroyed at least six structures.