Posts Tagged ‘fire’
Jamie Chimpanzee the Firefighter
You probably know that Jamie is a pretty awesome chimpanzee. What you may not know is how, last year, she alerted the humans to a fire that was approaching the sanctuary property. You can read about that here. It’s fire season again here in the Northwest, and the Jolly Mountain Fire is currently burning in…
Read MoreHighway 10 Fire
Today started out pretty normal. Us humans were busy cleaning all morning, with breaks to walk around the hill with Jamie and check in with the other chimps. We had finished cleaning the playroom and had started cleaning the front rooms. I was over by the playroom door and Jamie was craning her neck and…
Read MoreThe Wildfire Sprinkler System
It’s hard to believe, but it’s already fire season here in Central Washington. The Taylor Bridge Fire, which threatened the sanctuary two years ago, was a vivid reminder that no matter how prepared you think you are for an emergency, there’s always more you can do. That’s why we’re so excited to be testing out…
Read MoreFire and Art
One year ago today, the sanctuary property was engulfed in flames and smoke. We thought at one point that the caregiver house that J.B. and I live in was gone (it turned out the roof and siding had caught fire, but the interior was saved). J.B. stayed with the chimps as the flames spread, and…
Read MoreGetting green
Last summer, over half of Young’s Hill was burned in the Taylor Bridge Fire. We knew that the grass and bamboo would recover, but it was hard to imagine it ever looking the same again. But with a little spring rain and some warm weather, the grass has come back as good as ever and…
Read MoreWildfire update
Just a quick update to let you know that the sanctuary is not in any danger from the wildfires currently burning across Washington State. However, the fires are creating hazardous air quality in some areas, including around the sanctuary on occasion. During these times, we have been keeping the chimpanzees indoors with the ventilation system…
Read MoreIn depth story from KOMO
KOMO News (ABC Channel 4 in Seattle) has shared a longer, in depth video and interviews about the Taylor Bridge Fire at the sanctuary. They put the video on their website here. You can watch it below and you can email KOMO to thank them for sharing the original story at this address: [email protected]
Read MoreKOMO 4 News Story
Here’s the link to the Seattle KOMO 4 News story that aired tonight: http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Chimpanzees-survive-close-call-with-Cle-Elum-wildfire-168549526.html Eric Johnson and videographer Eric Jensen did a great job with this story and we were so glad to have them out again today. I should admit that J.B. dreamed up and built Young’s Hill. I did encourage him… and I…
Read MoreChimps back on Young’s Hill
We opened the door to let the chimps back onto Young’s Hill for the first time since the Taylor Bridge Fire hit the sanctuary property on August 13th. Gary Chittim and Ken Jones from King 5 were here to do a story today. You can see footage of the chimps’ excitement and steps out on…
Read MoreThe story of the fire, part 4
See the Story of the Fire Part 1 here As the fire overtook the sanctuary grounds, we closed the doors and windows of the chimp house and waited. There was nothing more we could do. Inside the building, you could hear a pin drop. Normally, when chimpanzees sense danger, they are anything but quiet. Alarm…
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