It is with the greatest possible joy that I’m re-posting this update from the Safari West facebook page yesterday afternoon.
UPDATE: Monday 10/16, 3:15pm
It is with a tremendous sense of relief that I report that the Tubbs fire is now 70% contained. While members of our staff remain evacuated and at risk, I hope we may be close to seeing the end of this disaster.
At the Safari West Wildlife Preserve, our keepers and their animal charges are returning to their old routines while around them our maintenance staff work to rebuild what was damaged. It will be some time before we’re back to where we were, but we have high hopes for the future.
Although conditions remain in flux, at this point our expected reopenings are as follows:
-Safari tours are expected to resume on November 12th.
-The Safari West test camp will reopen in March of 2018.
*These dates are subject to change. Please visit www.safariwest.com for our most up to date projections.
I want to thank all of you for following along with us throughout the course of this crisis. Your ongoing support means the world to all of us who work at Safari West and believe in the importance of its conservation mission. We will continue to push forward with our efforts even as we do what we can to help our friends, neighbors, and community. This last week has been a changing point for all of us in the North Bay. We have suffered much together but we will also recover together. Thank you for all that you have done to help us and to help one another. I hope that we’ll soon be able to welcome all of you back to Safari West.
I never ever thought they’d be able to survive this conflagration. After Peter’s dark night where he stayed behind to save the animals while his home burned to the ground, I thought the fire would just finish them. I am so relieved and full of hope and love for them.
Safari West donated to our very second beaver festival and payed for the ceramic markers that let kids do the creek tiles that now hang on our Escobar Bridge. They supported us every year since with financial backing, gifts to the silent auction, and amazing volunteers. Martinez was colored by Safari West, and we will remember every one of those gifts.
Who knows, maybe this year at the festival or Earth day we’ll have kids make “Get Well cuz we love you!” cards?
