Smokey The Barn Owl Recovering Nicely, Vet Says

LAKE FOREST, CA—An injured barn owl rescued by firefighters, lovingly nicknamed "Smokey," has been healing at the Serrano Animal & Bird Hospital in Lake Forest since October's Silverado Fire.

On Wednesday, vets at Serrano Animal hospital released some new pictures of Smokey's progress as his singed flight feathers continue to grow back. A GoFundMe was established to raise funds for the animal's extensive care has raised over $1,000, while other fundraisers have amassed over $2000, the veterinary hospital reports. During his recovery, the bird must molt out all of his feathers damaged by the fire.

"Smokey the Barn Owl had a small pea-sized hole in the skin of his wing (patagium) that the fine vets at Serrano Animal and Bird Hospital repaired surgically," they reported. He is healing up now, and Smokey is the feistiest, most territorial, owl the Serrano vets have ever cared for.

By feisty? The bird yells at his caretakers at every given opportunity in his high-pitched barn owl shriek.

"That bodes well for his release potential," they say. "It will take months for him to regrow all his feathers."

Five months after his rescue, his flight-feathers are just half-grown. His next stop will be Orange County Bird of Prey Center, where he will get some exercise before being released back into the wild.

"When that day comes, you can be assured we will have a big send-off celebration for him!" Serrano vets told us. Until then, the "wilder" he stays, the better, vets say.

Smokey's rescue took place on Day Two of the fast-moving Silverado fire, as the Station 70 crew worked in the hard-hit areas of Irvine. The wildfire was pushed by heavy Santa Ana winds, displacing over 90,000 residents in its path. Though protecting people is the firefighters' primary concern, wildlife is always a factor.

Firefighters Justin Chapman and Frank Granados talked with reporters while visiting their feathered friend in December. The pair were checking hot spots in Irvine in the embattled Orchard Hills area when they saw the owl.

"I joked and said, 'Any of you guys ever catch a chicken before?'" he said outside the Serrano Animal & Bird Hospital when the firefighter returned for a visit.

Firefighter/medic Chapman described the owl-wrangling.

"We shepherded it into this burned outfield and did a kind of flank and pincer maneuver," Chapman said. "We were able to get it to stop in its tracks."

At that point, Chapman took off his yellow jacket and carefully pinned its wings, wrapped the owl "up like a burrito" and took the exhausted bird into their truck. It was a "surreal moment," he said, "a part of the job you don't ever think you're going to do."

When it comes to caring for creatures, Orange County Fire Authority Firefighters firefighters regularly go out of their way to lend a hand.

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