We
have spent many weeks clearing brush and fallen trees after Hurricane
Charley hit us on Friday,
August 13, 2004
. With 80% of our trees down and over $200,000 in damage to our freezer
building, perimeter fence and animal enclosures, we have much to rebuild.
With no power or phones, the generators were running to keep the well pump
running to provide fresh water and to keep a refrigerator and a freezer running
to prevent the total loss of all of our perishable food for the animals.
No air conditioning or other ‘simple pleasures’ as we worked to clear debris
with volunteers with temperatures soaring to the upper 90’s.
Three
weeks later, before we could even clean up enough to begin reconstruction - we
were hit by Hurricane Frances. We
had only had power and phones restored for a little over a week and we were back
on generators again. This second hurricane in three weeks brought quite a
bit of wind and a LOT of rain, more trees down and water everywhere. We were
thoroughly flooded and scrambling to ensure that all of our animal enclosures
drained properly. Mosquitoes swarmed and we continued to work with no air
conditioning once again – with more wonderful volunteers coming from all over
the state to assist.
Three
more weeks passed - we were still dealing with structural damage to our facility
and clearing brush and fallen trees. We were all exhausted. We don't know
how much more dirt we could shovel, ditches we could dig or brush and logs we
could lift! …….Then we were hit by Hurricane
Jeanne, the third hurricane to
hit us directly in six weeks. More of the same… more tree
damage, more structural damage, no power or phones. With each storm, the
number of volunteers is dwindling. The volunteers all live in the
surrounding areas and the storms are taking their toll on their homes and
families as well.
To
top it off, 36 hours after Hurricane Jeanne hit us, while the facility was still
operating on generators and the hurricane shutters had yet to be removed, we
were scheduled to fly to
New York
to rescue two bears! We still succeeded! (click here to read more
about the bear rescue)
We
will be recovering from these three devastating hurricanes for a very long time.
Although we were extremely fortunate to avoid any animal escapes or injuries
through these storms, almost all of our big cat enclosures are structurally
damaged and will need to be rebuilt before next hurricane season – or we may
not be so lucky next year. Over the course of this hurricane season, we
have had some stress-related complications with a few animals, resulting in
unusually high veterinary bills.
Our
freezer building is completely gone, with many freezer doors blown completely
off. Our dry storage sheds are damaged and everything is getting wet and
moldy. The veterinary clinic we were setting up (in a commercial mobile
home) is no longer a consideration – we need a concrete building. We
plan to construct a building to hold the freezers, refrigerators, dry feed
storage, supplies and veterinary care – we don’t want to go through this
again, and we are supposed to be at the beginning of a long stretch of active
hurricane seasons.
If
you would like to help us, we are always need
volunteers,
we have
an extensive
needs list and of course, we need
donations
to help with the reconstruction.
We
sincerely appreciate all of the caring individuals who have come to our aid
during this hurricane season.
NEEDS LIST
Our most urgent needs:
Physical help! We need more volunteers (over 18) -
If you are over 18 and would like to assist, please call us at 863.735.0804
or email
lstoner@peaceriverrefuge.org
for the most current information on projects and volunteer needs. All of the
animals are secure, but our facility is badly damaged. We need basic manual
labor, as well as skilled labor - drainage/irrigation companies,
tree-trimming companies, contractors/carpenters, etc. (CLICK
HERE FOR DIRECTIONS)
Funds to rebuild - Tax deductible donations are
needed to purchase special-order fencing and other materials to rebuild.
Checks may be made payable to: Peace River Refuge and Ranch, PO Box 1127,
Zolfo Springs, FL 33890.
Credit card donations may be made securely online
by clicking this button:
Fresh Fruit for the Egyptian Fruit Bats
Deworming medications - please call us for details
(with flooding, we need to be especially careful to properly deworm the
animals
"Amdro" fire ant bait
Military style "camo" net for shade over
animal enclosures (now that many of our oak trees are gone) - many of our
animals are afraid of tarps and shade cloth, this netting looks more natural
to them
Chain Saws - especially the ones on telescoping
poles for reaching up into trees
Other tree trimming equipment - especially if
someone has a tree service/bucket truck for reaching high into the trees
Rakes and shovels
Bleach
Chains for dragging trees off enclosures and roads
A dump truck for use for hauling fill dirt
"Shell" fill to repair our driveway and
service roads - they are quickly becoming impassable with the mud
A large storage shed to get equipment out of the
weather, since our storage buildings are gone and our sheds are damaged - it
is still raining every day
Concrete block (new)
Pressure-treated lumber and plywood (all sizes)
Metal/tin roofing material
Rerod and concrete reinforcement mesh for concrete
work
Stainless steel support cable - all sizes
Two commercial "reach in" freezers with
6-shelf capacity (each) - our freezers were destroyed in the hurricane
A walk-in cooler - ours was destroyed in the
hurricane
If you have a sign company - we need to replace most
of our signage at our facility (animal names, sponsors, etc.)
Animal care supplies:
Bleach
Paper towels
Laundry soap
OxyClean
Disinfectant cleaners
Antibacterial dish soap
Rubber gloves
Horse care supplies, feed and hay
Deworming medications
Fresh fruits and vegetables - for the Egyptian fruit
bats and monkeys
Syringes, basic medical care supplies and microchips
Lisa Stoner, Vice President
Peace River Refuge & Ranch
PO Box 1127 - 2545 Stoner Lane
Zolfo Springs, FL 33890
863.735.0804
