Pets separated from their families displaced by the Los Angeles wildfires are fighting for their lives… because they have limited options for food and water.
The heartbreaking situation is taking place in Pacific Palisades and Altadena, where people's pets were left in the rubble and left to fend for themselves.
The cats, dogs and other pets that survived the fires are left with no food or water…loud Chris Valles from Los Angeles County Animal Care and Control.
The only way to feed and hydrate these displaced animals is for their owners to call LA Animal Care and Control and request an animal welfare inspection at a specific address. The staff goes to the specified address and searches for the animals. If it doesn't find them, it leaves food and water behind. But in some areas no one has access.
That means if displaced residents think their pet is dead and don't request tests, the animals are unlikely to find food if they are actually alive.
We're also told there are no active patrols looking for displaced animals in Altadena or the Palisades…mainly due to safety issues with live wires and gas leaks making the area unsafe.
The thing is…residents can't just return to the fire areas to look for the pets…law enforcement is keeping people out and only letting a select few in.
The Pasadena Humane Society previously said it had the authority to send search teams to affected areas and randomly dump food… but now they're telling us that's not actually the case.
Valles said Animal Control operates 24 hours a day to respond to animal welfare checks… with staff responding to calls about small pets and larger animals such as farm animals.
We're told an animal control team went to a residence in the Palisades on Tuesday to check on a koi pond. Some of the fish were dead and those that survived were rescued.
Other welfare checks Wednesday included a call from a woman about a colony of cats she used to feed in Altadena … and another from a resident worried about his horse. Food and water were left for the cats and hay for the horse.
Another grim reality these pets face… Many wild animals are also being displaced… and hungry coyotes and mountain lions are likely scouring devastated neighborhoods for food.
The situation is pretty dire…tonight will be the 9th night of displaced pets going without food and water.
Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ … There was an underground operation in which residents left food and water themselves if they were able to get into the disaster areas.