On the Road to Recovery from Hurricane Ian
“When do we eat?” Ralf plays on top of his culvert in the immediate aftermath of the storm. The cats were safe, but the facility work remains.
We are so fortunate that our animal residents remained secure, safe, and protected from the worst of Hurricane Ian.
We are blessed to learn that our staff and volunteers made it through the storm safely, though impacted to various degrees. In spite of power outages, flooding, and impending home repairs, they have shown Commitment by returning to tend to our animal residents.
Collectively, TeamCFAR’s preparations ahead of the storm have helped us successfully avoid the worst outcomes Hurricane Ian could have brought. We celebrate and honor the time and energy that the team put in to mount a successful storm defense.
Our storm filled lake was so high it overtook trees along its banks.
Flooding and tree debris by our Visitor’s Center.
Unfortunately, we did not escape the hurricane unscathed. There’s a lot of work ahead of us to be able to restore the grounds and facilities to the way they were. The importance of key infrastructure like our food prep is essential. Without it, we are not able to do the work of caring for the animal residents.
Unpredictable events like a Hurricane are stressful for all involved, but particularly challenging on non-profits like us who depend on public support. And though we have fared well, we will need the help of specialists to fix some of these key components as soon as possible.
To avoid impacting budgets used for animal care, please consider a special donation to our hurricane repair fund to help get us back to normal operations. This will help us repair damaged gates, animal cooling fans, air conditioning controls, roof and septic damage as a result of the storm.
With your support, we can return our focus to our mission of addressing the challenge of big cats for the future, while providing value to society today! Please contribute to our Hurricane Ian recovery fund. We’ll keep you updated as the work progresses!
Dr. K. Simba Wiltz
CEO
Central Florida Animal Reserve
