Why California Needs the Sheriff’s HEART Model: Lessons from the Palisades Wildfires

When the recent Palisades fires swept through Los Angeles County, the flames exposed more than the vulnerabilities of homes and landscapes, they revealed a critical gap in California’s emergency response system: a lack of coordinated, specialized, and scalable animal evacuation and rescue infrastructure. Across burn zones, communities were forced to fill that gap themselves. Residents self-organized horse trailer caravans, turned into makeshift walkie-talkie networks, formed ad-hoc dispatch centers in parking lots, and risked their own lives navigating chaotic conditions to save animals left behind.

These individuals acted courageously, but they should not have had to act alone.

The Palisades fire response showed what Californians run into again and again: animal rescue during disasters is happening, but without a statewide strategy, without unified command, without trained teams, and without sufficient support for overwhelmed animal control agencies.

That is exactly why the Sheriff’s Humane Emergency Animal Rescue Team (Sheriff’s HEART) developed in Nevada County, has become one of the strongest emerging models in California. And it is why this model is now positioned as the blueprint our state urgently needs.

The Palisades Fires: A Real-World Case Study of What’s Missing

1. Communities Self-Deploy Because No Formal Structure Exists

CNN reported that as fires spread, community members created their own systems: volunteer horse teams, trailer convoys, equestrian groups, and improvised communication networks. Many were searching for a dispatch point that didn’t exist. Others coordinated rescues solely through social media.

What the Sheriff’s HEART model solves: Sheriff’s HEART provides the structure those volunteers never had. An ICS-integrated, Sheriff’s Office–aligned, trained and credentialed animal rescue team with clear dispatch, check-in procedures, communication channels, and supervision.

With Sheriff’s HEART, residents don’t have to self-deploy. They can volunteer safely, legally, and effectively under trained leadership.

2. Lack of Centralized Dispatch Leads to Chaos and Delays

CNN described skilled volunteers driving to the L.A. Equestrian Center to “find dispatch,” only to discover no such system existed. Without official channels, rescues depended on unverified messages and fragmented information.

How Sheriff’s HEART fixes this:Sheriff’s HEART operates through Incident Command System (ICS) protocols. Every volunteer knows:

• where to check in

• who they report to

• how missions are assigned

• how communication flows

• what safety rules apply

  
  

This structure eliminates dangerous improvisation and reduces chaotic, uncoordinated rescues.

3. Skilled Trailer Owners Want to Help, but Need Safe, Supervised Deployment

CNN highlighted horse owners who ran 21-hour rescue operations without rest, oversight, or protective equipment. They were willing to help, but lacked a safe, organized way to do so.

Sheriff’s HEART closes this gap:The model trains, qualifies, and deploys volunteers who already have livestock experience and trailers, but brings them under:

• Sheriff’s Office vetting

• ICS chain-of-command

• mission-specific assignments

• safety and PPE protocols

• credentialed, supervised disaster operations

  
  

Under Sheriff’s HEART, skilled volunteers aren’t pushed to exhaustion or put in unsafe conditions. They are activated, supervised, and protected.

4. Multi-Species Rescue Requires Specialized Training

Reporting from the Palisades fires showed that goats, sheep, horses, cats, dogs, and exotics each require different handling. LA Times sources noted that animals were left behind because responders lacked species-specific skills or safe handling knowledge.

Where the Sheriff’s HEART model stands apart:Sheriff’s HEART trains volunteers in:

• horse handling and trailering

• livestock movement

• small animal behavior

• technical rescue support

• sheltering, intake, and triage

  
  

And importantly:

Sheriff’s HEART is proactively aligning its training with California’s developing Animal Emergency Response (AER) resource typing even though these standards are not yet required statewide.

Rather than waiting for mandates, Sheriff’s HEART is building the system California should adopt: a unified, typed, consistent animal evacuation framework that elevates volunteer capability and strengthens mutual aid between counties.

Sheriff’s HEART is not following a requirement, it is leading the state toward one.

5. Long-Term Displacement Requires Organized Planning

CNN highlighted that after evacuations, many animals needed foster care, long-term housing, transportation, and coordinated placement. Community groups had to build these systems from scratch.

Sheriff’s HEART already integrates long-term support:

Sheriff’s HEART helps counties manage:

• shelter staffing

• animal tracking

• resource allocation

• transportation logistics

• inter-agency partnerships

• reunification

  
  

Instead of improvising during a crisis, HEART brings preparedness into the pre-disaster phase.

The LA Times: Why Agencies Alone Cannot Handle the Scale

The LA Times reported that during major fires:

• Animal Control officers were the only ones allowed in burn areas

• They lacked staffing for widespread searches

• Skilled nonprofit rescuers couldn’t legally enter

• PETS Act expectations were not consistently met

• Delays led to animal suffering

• Even officers admitted they needed more help

  
  

Sheriff’s HEART is built to solve these problems.

Sheriff’s HEART is not a replacement for Animal Control, it is a force multiplier. HEART volunteers are vetted, trained adults who operate under the Sheriff’s Office, expanding a county’s ability to evacuate animals quickly and safely.

With HEART, counties gain a supervised, credentialed volunteer workforce solving the governance and liability problems that prevent skilled community members from being authorized to help.

What DACC’s Response Revealed and How Sheriff’s HEART Fills the Gaps

DACC’s updates during the Palisades fires showed exactly what counties need help with:

• Large-animal facilities immediately reached capacity

• Animals had to be distributed across multiple centers

• Red Cross shelters took in small animals

• Communication channels changed rapidly

  
  

Staffing demands overwhelmed available personnel

Sheriff’s HEART fills these operational

gaps by providing:

• Trailer teams

• Evacuation specialists

• Shelter staffing

• Transport logistics

• Animal intake support

• Situation reporting

• AER-informed training

  
  

ICS communication structureIf one of the largest animal care systems in the country struggled under fire conditions, it reinforces the truth: Smaller counties need Sheriff’s HEART even more.

Sheriff’s HEART: Built for California’s Reality

Sheriff’s HEART is unique because it is:

• Housed under a Sheriff’s Office

This provides governance, oversight, credentialing, and legal structure unmatched by any other animal rescue nonprofit.

• Fully integrated into Incident Command System operations

Volunteers always know who they report to, where to check in, and how missions are assigned.

• Proactively aligning with future AER resource typing

Sheriff’s HEART is building toward the standards California should adopt.

• A safe, vetted, credentialed volunteer force

Not spontaneous responders but trained disaster workers under official supervision.

• Scalable to every county in California

Small or rural counties can adopt the model with minimal cost using HEART’s training, deployment methods, and mutual aid partnerships.

• Ready for statewide mutual aid through Better Impact

Sheriff’s HEART volunteers can deploy to other counties under an official, trackable system

something California currently lacks.

Why Sheriff’s HEART Should Become California’s Standard

The Palisades fires showed what California urgently needs:

• coordinated dispatch

• trained trailer teams

• multi-species handlers

• safe volunteer integration

• Animal Control Officer (ACO)  reinforcement

• ICS communication

• logistical manpower

• public evacuation compliance

• PETS Act alignment

• long-term sheltering assistance

  
  

Sheriff’s HEART already provides all of these in one unified, Sheriff’s Office–aligned model.

The Future of Animal Emergency Response in California

Sheriff’s HEART began in Nevada County but California’s wildfire reality shows that its model is needed everywhere. As disasters grow in scale and frequency, and as communities demand better protection for their animals, the Sheriff’s HEART framework becomes not only valuable but essential.

Every county deserves this model. Every Sheriff’s Office can adopt it. And together, we can create a statewide network capable of protecting animals, supporting families, and strengthening community resilience.

Sheriff’s HEART: Because animals are family. And in a crisis, all family members deserve a plan.