Man saved ‘a thousand souls’ in midst of California fire

As the northern California fires spread through the hills around him, California resident Peter Lang was forced to choose between saving his home or protecting more than 1,000 animals who were trapped at Safari West, his wildlife preserve.

Lang, 77, watched the flames engulf his house just about a half-mile east of the preserve.

But that’s OK, he told the Press Democrat.

“I did not lose a single animal,” he said. “It is amazing.”

Lang, his wife Nancy and 30 overnight guests saved them all by using a garden hose to douse the hot spots that were endangering his animals, including giraffes and cheetahs.

“I have a thousand souls I’m responsible for,” he told the Press Democrat. “It wasn’t even a decision. This is what I had to do.”

Since the wildfires began, Safari West has been updating its followers via Facebook.

“After another full day of hard work, the Safari West Wildlife Preserve remains in good shape,” the preserve posted Friday. “We continue to care for the animals and increase the fire defenses. At this point active fires continue to burn close to Safari West so we're not in the clear yet. Please continue to keep us in your thoughts. While we are cautiously optimistic about the future, we've all seen how quickly this fire can change.”

This story was originally published October 13, 2017 at 5:04 PM with the headline "Man saved ‘a thousand souls’ in midst of California fire."