In the wake of September’s Gladding Fire, which saw evacuations of homes and animals north of Lincoln, Placer County Animal Services is creating a new volunteer group to rescue animals during disasters.

“We determined there was a need for this last year in the Gladding Fire,” said Joe Spera, animal control officer and disaster coordinator for Placer County Animal Services. “We need trained volunteers working with fire departments.”

The initial training for the new team, called the County Animal Response Team, will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday at the Auburn Equestrian Center at 11330 Mt. Vernon Road in Auburn.

“Anybody can come,” Spera said. “We’re cutting it off at 75.”

The training is free and Spera said there aren’t any special qualifications needed.

Some of the skills that will be taught include handling animals such as horses, cattle, goats and sheep, how to load them onto trailers and how to work within the command structure of emergency services, according to Spera.

Joy Smith, president and co-founder of Lincoln’s Field Haven Feline Rescue, a nonprofit animal shelter, said she plans on attending the training.

“I’m excited,” Smith said. “We really felt the need for it.”

Smith remembers the Gladding Fire of Labor Day last year as a chaotic wake-up call.

“What was so inspiring about it was I saw the smoke and didn’t think anything of it,” Smith said. “Then I got a call from a friend on Gladding Road who said they were being evacuated. We went over to help. We had so many people willing to help.”

Smith said she commends the county and Animal Services for establishing the team.

“It’s not ‘if it happens,’ it’s ‘when it happens,’ ” Smith said.

Despite the creation of a specialized team, the responsibility to protect animals still falls on their owners, said Susan Schutte, who owns horses near the site of the Gladding Fire.

“If you have a small farm, you need to have a plan,” Schutte said.

That plan should include having a list of who to call if there is a disaster, as well as a place to go, according to Schutte. She added that the plan should be similar to the ones everyone should have for their families in case of emergency.

During the Gladding Fire, Schutte said she and her husband were put to the test. They moved a lot of horses but it’s impossible to move all of them alone.

As it turned out, the Gladding Fire spared Schutte’s property and horses, burning only a fence and some hay.

Sunday’s training for the volunteer team is the first in what is planned to be a series of training sessions, Spera said, but there are not currently other sessions scheduled.

Although the training, which will involve hands-on work, is limited to 75 participants, Spera said anyone can come out and watch.

In the event of a disaster, Placer County officials will use a calling system to alert volunteers to the emergency, according to Spera.

“Preparedness is the key,” Spera said. “We expect those fires again.”

Brandon Darnell can be reached by e-mail at brandond@goldcountrymedia.com.