Video: Police Officers Rush to Rescue Animals as Nelson Wildfire Raced Toward California SPCA Building

On Friday, the Vacaville Police Department in California rescued some of its four-legged residents at the SPCA in Solano County, which was in the Nelson Fire's path.

Lieutenant Mark Donaldson told Newsweek that the department had been tracking the fire and noticed that its northeast trajectory included cresting a hill that the SPCA building backed up to. When it was apparent that the SPCA building was at risk of being engulfed by the flames on Friday, officers rushed to the scene, into the building, and began to bring the animals to safety.

"We were just grabbing kittens and dogs and putting them in crates and cars," Donaldson explained. "We knew we had to get them to a safer location."

Donaldson called the rescue a "joint effort" between the SPCA staff, Vacaville officers and the fire department, which was on scene for securing the structure. Fortunately, the fire stopped short of burning the building, but Donaldson estimated the flames came within 25 yards.

The rescue earned the praise of Facebook users who watched the video, and while it was impressive, Donaldson told Newsweek that it wasn't surprising.

"We often have a motto here at the police department that you look for work," he said. "Not everything you can train for—our officers are always great at adapting and overcoming and thinking outside the box and getting creative. That's exactly what they did in this situation and that's what we expect of them."

The rescue took place just before 6:30 p.m. PST, and body camera footage from the rescue shows officers grabbing crates and bringing them outside. A female officer is also seen quickly putting a collar and leash on a dog and leading the canine to her car where she compliments the "good dog" for jumping into the back seat.

Another dog required a bit more coaxing; after her attempt at convincing the dog to get in to "go for a ride," she scoops the dog up and puts it in the back seat of the cruiser.

"That's a good boy," an officer tells a slightly frightened dog as she pulls the dog out of its kennel.

After all of the dogs were rescued from the building, the officer, who is breathing heavily, jumps in her car, moving a dog to the passenger seat as she climbs in the driver's side, and drives the animals to safety.

The Vacaville Police Department shared an update from the Solano SPCA, which explained that the organization was "forced to evacuate under extremely short notice." While the police department was able to rescue lots of the animals, a few cats remained in the cat building and a volunteer illegally entered the building without anyone knowing.

After the SPCA learned that a volunteer was inside and it was deemed safe, two staff members were escorted inside by the police department to get the rest of the animals out of the building.

"All animals are safe in foster homes at this time," the update said. "Unfortunately, we do not have power or water at this time but all 60 of our animals are safe in foster homes for the time being."

The SPCA also thanked the community for its graciousness with donations, love, support and concerns. "We are extremely lucky and thankful to the fire departments and police departments who were on site last night and on the front lines," the statement concluded.

The Nelson fire began shortly before 5 p.m. PST on Friday and burned 2,162 acres before it was contained on Sunday morning. It's one of almost 20 fires that have broken out throughout the state of California this summer.