Preparing for injured animals in the roadway

A pet or a wild animal runs out in front of your car, and a collision occurs. What should you do?

May 9, 2024 1:30 am
Researchers uncovering insights into an 1,100 year-old extreme earthquake event counted ancient tree rings and used a new carbon-14 dating technique to detect spikes in cosmic ray effects on the rings. The scientists shown here collected some data by using underwater chainsaws to slice sections from trees that toppled into lakes in the earthquake event (Bryan Black photo).
Researchers uncovering insights into an 1,100 year-old extreme earthquake event counted ancient tree rings and used a new carbon-14 dating technique to detect spikes in cosmic ray effects on the rings. The scientists shown here collected some data by using underwater chainsaws to slice sections from trees that toppled into lakes in the earthquake event (Bryan Black photo).

A pet or a wild animal runs out in front of your car, and a collision occurs.

Your vehicle might be damaged, and the animal is dead or injured. What should you do?

We’re lucky to live in a place with a lot of animal experts and resources for help, including Fair Isle Animal Clinic, Haven, Vashon Island Pet Protectors, and Vashon Nature Center.

If the pet is alive but injured, prompt transport to a vet clinic is key. Contact Fair Isle Animal Clinic at 206-463-3607, and one of our local animal welfare organizations for volunteer response and transport help: Vashon Island Pet Protectors (VIPP) at 206-389-1085, or Haven at 206-876-9652.

If a pet is deceased, the body can be transported to Fair Isle Animal Clinic for safekeeping until the owner is found. Contact Haven or Vashon Island Pet Protectors for help.

If an injured or deceased pet doesn’t have an identification tag, it will be scanned for a microchip, and the clinic or the responding organization will contact the owners. If an animal has no ID, local rescue organizations will post the animal information on community social media pages.

For support with injured wildlife, contact Haven at 206-876-9652. Wildlife volunteers will respond to help and, if needed, arrange for transport to the appropriate licensed wildlife rehabilitation facility based on species. Haven also partners directly with the Vashon Nature Center (VNC) for rapid response involving raptors and other large birds. Learn more at VNC’s website.

Remember to keep yourself safe. Some diseases of other animals can infect humans too, so if you must handle sick or injured wildlife or pets, wear gloves, and ideally also a mask and goggles. After handling, wash hands thoroughly and launder soiled clothing.

For life safety issues, call 911. You can also call King County Roads at 206-477-8100 or 800-KC-ROADS. If a dead or injured deer or other large animal is blocking the roadway, it’s a traffic hazard. KC Roads monitors their phone number and email address 24 hours a day, so it’s a good number to keep handy for any road-related problem.

Was there an ancient double earthquake?

Salish people’s oral histories tell of an earthquake 1,100 years ago. A great serpent spirit, A’yahos, shook the earth, carving out cliffs and forming new lakes. Modern-day scientists years ago found geologic evidence of the event. They’ve been studying data that shows how it swept whole forests into lakes, and created new lakes in the Seattle fault zone, which runs through Seattle and west across the south end of Bainbridge Island.

Recent research, published in the journal Science Advances, suggests that this 1,100-year-old event might have been a rare linked-fault event. Perhaps two faults ruptured simultaneously in 923 C.E. or 924 C.E. A severe earthquake caused by sudden movement along one fault could be bad enough, but the possibility of multiple faults rupturing together “raises the potential for larger earthquakes,” as U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) expert Lydia Staisch puts it. You can read more about the science here.

“We’re always learning more about our seismic risks, and that’s important because we live on the seismically active Pacific Ring of Fire,” observed Dr. Michael Sperazza, a geologist and the volunteer Situation Section Chief in the Vashon Emergency Operations Center.

“Knowing about the possibility of a multiple-fault earthquake event helps us prepare,” Dr. Sperazza said. “It’s likely that a linked-fault event would generate an even bigger earthquake than a single-fault event, causing greater damage and injury. We also have concerns about new data in the last few years suggesting that a rupture on the offshore Cascadia Subduction Zone could generate a tsunami of nine to 16 feet along Vashon’s shorelines. “

VashonBePrepared recommends having three weeks of water, food, and medicine stored away to help your family be more self-sufficient after a major disaster.

PSE Open House

A Puget Sound Energy (PSE) informational open house on wildfire risks and mitigation is coming to Vashon on May 14, from 4:30 to 6:30 pm, in the lobby at Vashon Center for the Arts (VCA). Vashon emergency preparedness volunteers will also be at the open house to answer your questions and provide handouts.

The main feature of the event will be about PSE’s work on reducing wildfire risk. Attendees will learn about proactive power cuts for power lines during extreme fire risk weather conditions, to help prevent power line sparking and other potential fire risks. You’ll also learn how PSE notifies residents and businesses if there will be a Public Safety Power Shut-off (PSPS).

If you can’t make the in-person event, read about PSE wildfire mitigation measures on their website.