Firefighters pulled 10 unresponsive cats from a burning mobile home in Yucaipa early Wednesday morning, and only one survived despite crews performing rescue breathing on the animals at the scene. Nine cats died in the fire, which broke out in the 13000 block of Second Street around 6:35 a.m.
CAL FIRE and the Yucaipa Fire Department responded to the residential fire, according to KTLA, with crews from the Calimesa Fire Department also arriving to help battle the blaze, which was dubbed the Vista Incident. When firefighters got to the scene, they found smoke coming from the single-family mobile home.
Crews Fight to Save the Animals Inside
Once inside, firefighters discovered all 10 cats unresponsive and immediately began lifesaving efforts, including rescue breathing, in an attempt to revive them. One cat was successfully resuscitated and transported to a veterinary hospital for additional treatment. The surviving cat's condition was not immediately available, the station's report notes.
Nine of the 10 cats did not survive. No residents or firefighters were reported injured in the blaze, and authorities did not immediately provide information about what sparked the fire or the extent of the damage to the home, per the same account.
A Grim Echo From Washington State
Pet deaths in mobile home fires are not unique to Yucaipa. A 2023 fire at the Whispering Pines Mobile Estate in Yakima, Washington, killed a cat and a dog after firefighters were called to the scene when someone saw smoke coming from a unit, according to the Yakima Herald-Republic. That blaze left the home a total loss, with damage estimated at $100,000, and its cause remained under investigation. Twenty firefighters managed to keep those flames from spreading to neighboring homes.
In Yucaipa, the cause of Wednesday's fire and the extent of the damage to the mobile home have not yet been released. What is clear is the scale of loss inside: nine cats dead and one fighting for its life after firefighters' attempt to bring it back.
