Police Video Shows a Daring Mission to Save Dozens of Shelter Animals From Wildfires

Police rescued 60 cats and dogs Saturday from a California animal shelter threatened by wildfires in a daring mission captured by the officers’ body cameras.

The animals were housed in an SPCA building that looked as if it were in the path of the Nelson Fire. The fire burned through 2,162 acres in Solano County in the north of the state before being contained on Sunday.

Video from the rescue shows police, staff and volunteers hurrying to usher cats into cages and putting leashes around the necks of dogs, with smoke from the fire rising in the background.

Police said all the animals were saved and placed in foster homes overnight. On Sunday, the Solano SPCA requested animals be returned to the building, which avoided damage from the fire.

“All of the animals are out of the shelter for the night and the shelter wasn’t damaged,” the Solano SPCA wrote on Facebook. “We are smokey but we are OK.”