Despite working in dry fire conditions, years of extensive training on how to locate disaster survivors have paid off for a border collie named Chaos and a woman from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team.
Team member Juanita Smith and Chaos traveled to the South Lake area of Kern County this week to assist with building searches in the Erskine Fire burn area—the largest and most destructive wildfire to erupt in California so far this year.
The blaze broke out on June 23 near Lake Isabella, and had burned nearly 48,000 acres, destroyed 285 homes and left two residents dead as of Friday.
“It was an extremely hot burn area,” said Smith, who is also a dog trainer and incident commander. “Almost everything had turned to ash. It was dry and there were many obstacles, hazards, broken glass and sharp metal.”
Approximately 12 dog teams responded from across California, including three dogs and trainers from Santa Barbara County who searched buildings for potential victims.
The Santa Barbara team included Sheila Malavasi and her 4-year-old German shephard Rica, Sheriff’s Deputy Tracee Walker and her 7-year-old border collie, Mojo, along with Smith.
The dog teams are certified in human-remains detection through the California Rescue Dog Association (CARDA), and were assigned at the request of the California Office of Emergency Services, sheriff’s spokeswoman Kelly Hoover said.
The request for more aid was made on June 26, and the team helped clear multiple burned residential properties and sheds that had been damaged in the fire.
Smith said her 2-year-old dog demonstrated agility, scenting capability, obedience and willingness to search for victims.
Chaos began canine training when she was 16 weeks old, and has practiced in weekly specialized training in the event of an urban disaster emergency. She was exposed to various training aids that are similar to dogs detecting narcotics, Smith said.
“We trained week after week and it’s rewarding when the day pays off,” Smith said. “(Chaos) worked hard and was strong going into each area. The dog knows what they are supposed to look for. That is her job.”
The teams started searching at approximately 5:45 a.m., and the more than 95-degree heat created dangerous search conditions around noon for the dogs.
“There’s a moment when you realize the dog is exhausted when it looks at you,” Smith said. “It decreases their effectiveness and behavior when the dogs are tired.”
Chaos has been deployed several times, but this was her first fire-related mission.
Veteran Santa Barbara search dogs Mojo and Rica have assisted in numerous searches, including response to the 2014 Oso mudslide in Washington.
— Noozhawk staff writer Brooke Holland can be reached at bholland@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
