Living in the path of the Californian wildfires
“We’re in Napa Valley, which is a world class destination, so everyone responds in a world class manner, in terms of generosity and philanthropy,” Monica Stevens, co-founder, Jameson Humane
To its visitors, the animals in Napa Valley seem like some of the safest in the world, given the area’s world-class wine fame. The reality is different. Each year, wildfires plague the region, causing suffering to people and animals alike. Monica Stevens, founder of Jameson Humane with her husband David, remembers the 2015 California wildfires, when 8,745 wildfires consumed 893,362 acres (3,615 km2), taking the lives of seven people as well as countless wild and domestic animals: “For the first three days, it was pandemonium. People were trying to establish what's going on. Law enforcement was trying to establish how to help. The Fire Department was trying to figure out how to infiltrate.”
Jameson Humane, then Jameson Animal Rescue Ranch and only a year old, leapt into action: “All we had was gut instinct and about 30 volunteers. And the first thing we did was hit social media with a call for food and supplies.” Characteristic of the area, the spirit to help was strong: donations poured in from all over the Bay Area as well as from international organisations based in the United States. “As a community responding to a horrific incident, we cut our teeth on who Jameson was. People saw that we weren’t afraid to help,” she says. “And we've found that good begets good. People come to us because they hear about our work. The more we share, the more we can do together.”
Tha philosophy continues to come in handy. Still reeling from the 2015 fires, 2017’s Napa/Sonoma Complex inferno would challenge the region in new ways. Once again, Jameson was there, ready to act. As fires encroached on properties, Jameson Humane raced to find safe harbour for animals and coordinate rescues, as well as deliver supplies to evacuation areas. “We rescued animals that had been abandoned and left alongside the road to die, providing a space for them to recover,” Stevens recalls. “As fires raged all around us, smoke burned our eyes, and fire retardant blanketed the sky, people were desperate to save their animals. Seventy two hours later, that’s exactly what we and our community did.”
That year, over 3,000 animals were evacuated. And the work has continued: during the Kincade fires in 2019 and in 2020, during the devastating LNU Complex and Glass fires, which decimated famed wineries, resorts, and ranches, many of whom supported Jameson Humane. The Stevensons helped galvanize the community by working across several different organizations to insist the community was cared for, advising those who were desperate and didn’t know what to do, providing critical supplies (like crates and transport vehicles) for animal care, well-being and evacuation efforts, as well as food for horses and farm animals.
More to come
Jameson Humane’s evolution and the way its community responds to wildfires is still in process, which is why disaster preparation, response, and recovery programmes continue to lie at the heart of Jameson’s animal welfare work. “Since 2015, there’s been an uprising of animal advocates creating what we now call Community Animal Response Teams (CART),” says Monica. CART are the frontline responders, the teams that, in collaboration with firefighters, go behind the fireline to get animals out. Napa CART, supported by Jameson, was one of the first; Sonoma CART formed soon after. Now, CART teams are at the ready, up and down the state of California.
In addition to emergency services and training its volunteer work force, the team and Jameson provide education to the community on preparing for fire and natural disasters. “Because without preparation, people don't know how to get out of the house, they don’t know how to get their cat in the carrier, they don’t have trailers for their horses,” says Stevenson. “It’s about realising our ability to work together.” There also now a hotline people can call for help; annual public forums keep the community updated.
In April, California governor Gavin Newsom approved a half-a-billion dollar emergency funding plan to prepare for a looming wildfire season that could be worse than last year’s record breaker, due to drought. These emergency measures, combined with Jameson’s boots-on-the-ground approach, are key. “This is where we’re saving thousands of lives because people finally understand that, if you don’t prepare, you’re going to lose your animal.” Local law enforcement are more than happy about the help. “They know that, if their mission is to rescue humans, often humans will not leave their premises unless their animals are with them,” says Stevens.
The lessons learned from years’ worth of fires are hotwired into Jameson’s DNA - along with the understanding that more fires are likely and that community is everything. As such, Jameson continues to position itself as the go-to resource for navigating animals to safety in a disaster. With a unique understanding of the need for continual disaster preparedness, Jameson Humane seeks to centralize more effective, faster, and safer disaster response efforts while leveraging updated equipment and technology all housed within a single, safe home base. They stand committed to forging a new path for the disaster preparedness, safety, and education of humans on behalf of their beloved animals.
Making the Case for Veganism
In tandem with its disaster work, Jameson is home to dogs, cats, rabbits, and rescued farmed animals and offers a proactive range of initiatives responding directly to the needs of the community and their animals. This work ties in directly with the idea that exploiting animals for any purpose seems absurd, which is why Jameson Humane enacts proactive veganic policies throughout its oragnisation. “Yes, I'm very grateful to be in the Bay Area because, although people may not yet be able to move to veganism right now, they’re open to the idea that animals are sentient beings,” says Monica, warmly. “The area is a little more educated in that way.”
Animal advocates are constantly stymied by social adherence to consuming meat and the challenge of confronting those narratives. As psychologists Kristof Dhont and Joachim Stoeber point out: “The habit of eating animals is deeply entrenched in our cultural traditions.” Monica agrees: “There's this inculcation of generations of people treating animals as property, as chattel. And, unless you have an interloper in your life, like Jameson, there’s small opportunity for people to change.” Nonetheless, as the world starts joining the dots between the pandemic, its origins in the wildlife trade and industrial agriculture, Monica sees transformation on the horizon.
“I believe in the vegan movement, and I believe COVID has been a huge influence on that,” she says. “I’ve lived in California for 15 years and I haven't seen anything like the explosion [of interest] that’s taken place in the last two years.” Growing awareness of animal agriculture’s egregious contribution to climate and ecological breakdown is another factor, as well as cultural agitators such as the Vegan Women Summit, documentaries such as The Game Changers (which makes the case for a plant-based diet via the performances of champion vegan athletes) and the work done by organisations such as Mercy for Animals, who go into factory farms to reveal the hidden horrors of their workings.
“When I first started Jameson, I had no idea of the severity of the problem and how much humans play into the problem as most folks just don't know any better,” admits Monica. “Every day, I had this feeling that people could instead be a part of the solution.” The launch of Jameson’s Veganic page (veganic is the process of transitioning to a plant-based lifestyle at your own pace and capacity) is one step but now, from its perspective of compassion and goodwill, Jameson looks set to go further: the ranch has partnered with a nearby sanctuary to create an education centre, to host inspirational speakers and to spread the word to the rest of the world via virtual classrooms.
“This is not just about Napa Valley,” says Monica. “We can rescue as many animals as we can fit on this property - or we can talk to thousands of people. We need to use all our resources to bring our message to a larger audience. And our energy and our focus needs to be on a younger population because they’re the future.” Is she hopeful? “Yes, I’m very excited,” she says. “Change is coming.”
