Attention!! IMPORTANT: Santiago Canyon Wildlife Update

[OMR]

This just in:

The cameras are back up and running in Limestone and Weir
Canyon and the mother mountain lion and her two cubs all survived
the fires. The babies are about the size of large dogs now –
yikes! Some great news for a change regarding the fires!

This was issued by the Irvine Ranch Water District Management.
Please pass along…

ALL EMPLOYEES:

Employees are advised to drive with extra caution along Santiago
Canyon Road (especially within the burn areas) and to be alert for
deer and other wildlife. Orange County Animal Control (OCAC) stated
yesterday that since the fires, there are on average four (4) deer
per week being struck by/running into vehicles along Santiago Canyon
Road. OCAC stated the shelters and food sources for the deer and
other wildlife were destroyed by the recent fires. For example, last
week, a mountain lion found searching for food near Irvine Lake had
to be euthanized because its paws were badly burned. The County
expects that this particular instance is probably not an isolated
case. According to OCAC, the wildlife is searching for both food and
for shelter. They stated that many of the animals are now homeless
and disoriented and it will take some time before the crisis for the
animals has passed. They are asking that drivers use extra caution
within these burn areas. Orange County Public Works is considering
placing additional signage along the road other than the standard
signs to alert drivers. The fires have taken a devastating toll on
the wildlife and the County is working to do what they can to help
alleviate the problem and they are asking for our assistance.

Please pass this information onto other drivers in your family to
alert them to this situation as well.

Thank You for your cooperation,

[Cragar]

Yes I got that on my email at work today, happens to be where I work

[Shannon]

That's great news OMR! Thank you so much for posting some good news about the mountain lions. Unfortunately, up here in Morro Bay we see a lot of deer that have been hit by cars. I'm still not quite used to it, but certainly more common than down there.