An estimated 1,000+ pets died in the Marshall Fire; Efforts underway to save animals in future emergencies

BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- The Boulder Marshall Fire was Colorado's most destructive fire on record. According to the Boulder County Sheriff's Office, the fire destroyed 1,084 homes. Many of those homes had pets inside.

New research by the University of Colorado Boulder, "Tracking the Effects of the Marshall Fire on Pets and People, estimates more than 1,000 pets perished in the Marshall Fire.

According to CU, many pets were trapped inside because their owners couldn't get back to help them, despite their desperate attempts to do so.

Study interviewees reported several reasons for not being able to save their pets; hours-long standstill traffic, being out of town, and not receiving an emergency notification.

Because of how quickly the Marshall Fire moved across Boulder County, Irvine acknowledged that even the best emergency plans would have been of little use.

However, that's not stopping Irvine and others from trying to take steps toward saving pets during future natural disasters and emergencies.

“My main takeaway is that to save our pets, we need to know our neighbors,” said study co-author Leslie Irvine, a sociology professor at CU Boulder and author of the book, Filling the Ark: Animal Welfare in Disasters in a press release.

“In sum, it appears that the majority of animals were not rescued,” the study concludes. Researchers pointed to the fire’s unusual behavior, coupled with widely reported pitfalls in the emergency notification system for the high fatality rate.

Irvine is now helping the nonprofit Animal Help Now design a Pet Help and Rescue App (PHAR) which would connect pet guardians with trusted contacts who have permission to enter their homes.

The organization's founder, David Crawford, was one of the people affected by the Marshall Fire. He managed to flee the flames with his two cats. Before leaving, Crawford told CU he knocked on a neighbor's door and found his neighbor's German Shepherd inside alone.

After contacting the owner on Facebook, Crawford entered and rescued the dog.

Looking back, Crawford said he wishes he could've saved more.

“In one square block that I drove around, there was a cockatiel, a tortoise, two cats, and two dogs,” Crawford said, noting that had he known how to get in, he could have done more. “I had time. I could have conceivably saved all those animals.”

The study authors said the research provides a powerful reminder to include pets in emergency planning and to have plans in place for others to get pets to safety when you're not home.

Below are steps researchers say pet owners can take to prepare for emergencies: