Where Do the Animals Go?
Los Angeles, CA
2025, Junior, Creative Writing
In a herd, we rushed out of our middle school, piling on top of each other to reach the long carpool line. The dark clouds loomed over us, nothing like the cloudless blue skies I was used to seeing here in LA. When I got into my car, I could see tears in my mom’s eyes. I didn’t understand. “Why do we have to leave early? Why are you crying?” I asked.
She didn’t answer me. I looked out the window, only to see ashes and the thickening air. My fears solidified as the world blackened around us. I had heard many stories about California forest fires and felt the sickening certainty they had finally arrived in LA.
When we got home, my dad was already packing. He told me to start packing, too. “The fires are moving quickly. We need to evacuate.” I ran outside and, from our high hill, watched fires spreading in the valley. I turned to face the forest that our backyard fed into. The fire would tear through these dry leaves quickly. The forest, full of ancient oak trees and hundred-year-old California Sycamores, would be lost. I thought of the animals that called them home. Just beyond the limits of my house lived many mule deer, squirrels, and coyotes. Once, I had even watched a duck waddle out from the woods and jump into our pool. I thought of all the animals. They probably had no idea that the fires were coming, that their homes and their lives were at risk. I couldn’t just let that happen. I had to warn them.
I ran inside to grab a loaf of bread and ran to the woods, tearing off crumbs past the hummingbird sage to lure animals away from the fire. I thought, if I can just get them out of the woods, they will have time to run away. I heard the rustle of underbrush, and a group of squirrels appeared, nibbling at the bread. But still, they were too close to the forest. I tried to herd them into the house so that we could take them with us. I knew even then that it might be silly, but saving even one animal could help. However, the squirrels were afraid of me and ran off into the woods. I called after them but they had all disappeared into the trees.
Smoke beginning to trickle into my lungs and ashes from the sky had begun to fall like dirty snow. Fear crept through me. How could I help the animals if they would not come with me?
It was only January. Many of the animals might be hibernating or seeking warmth in burrows or the safety of trees. Perhaps I could wake them up. I ran back into the woods to signal an alarm. I yelled, “The fires are coming, you are all in danger!” I screamed in sounds that felt foreign, that might signal danger, but still the woods remained silent.
“Rose! Come on!” My mom called. “We need to leave now!”
“What about the animals? I can’t just leave them here. They’re defenseless. I can’t just let them die in the woods. Remember Nutty the squirrel who ran into our house and took our bag of nuts? Or the family of deers that I watched when I was young? We have to help them!” I cried back.
“I know you want to save them, but we just don’t have time.” My mom grabbed me and pulled me toward the car.
“Just let me try one more time,” I said as I broke free. I ran into the woods before my mom could reply, to the spot where I used to sit and watch the deer, where in spring California poppies and manzanitas grew. I tried the house we made for Nutty and the tree that deers always used to rest under. But there were no animals, only traces of them.
I began another coughing fit and my eyes started to water. It was too late to save the animals; I at least had to save myself. Just like any other animal, I began to run. I felt the warmth of the fire approaching, the heaviness of my lungs, the blurring of my vision so that I could barely see what was ahead of me. I had no car, food or shelter. The only choice for me was to run. And so I did, through the forest. And as I did, I found them: the deer and the coyotes and the squirrels and the birds. Here we all were, fleeing together from that great danger we could not see, only smell and feel. After today, we would have no home on the mountain, but I could not think of this yet. I could only run. I was running for my life. We all were.
Reflection
I wrote this story because I was thinking about the LA fires and how scary they are. I thought about when my school was recently evacuated due to the fires. What if the fires reached my home and the natural world just beyond my backyard and all of the animals were in danger? I love being in nature because it makes me feel happy, calm, and energized. I want to be able to protect these spaces that I love. That’s why I wrote an emotional story about a girl like me who cares about the animals and trees around her. I imagined her doing what I would want to do if the fire reached me–save the animals. I know that in real life, I probably couldn’t save them all, but I would still want to try. My hope is that people will read my story and understand the immense impact of forest fires. People and animals are both just trying to survive, but people are better equipped. Fires are scary, but they also remind me that we need to protect the Earth. In moderation, fires are forests’ way of regenerating, but the massive droughts brought upon in California are worsening them and causing them to do much more harm. They are happening because we are not taking care of our world properly. Writing this was a small action that helped me understand how much I care about the environment, and I hope it helps others too.