‘We lost everything:’ North Georgia animal rescue goes up in flames

BLAIRSVILLE, Ga. — An animal rescue in north Georgia is asking the community for help after two buildings went up in flames earlier this week.

Southern Journey Animal Rescue and Transport in Blairsville says some workers were looking after rescue animals on Tuesday night when they noticed the sky was orange. When they looked, they saw that two outdoor buildings were burning.

Luckily, they were able to rescue all of their animals safely.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

“However, we lost everything that we had for the animals,” they wrote.

They say the fire was so hot that their new van was “melted” and can’t be driven.

“We have no way of doing transports at this time so we are devastated and just can’t believe this happened,” their statement said.

The animal rescue says they have homeowners insurance, but not a business policy with their insurance provider, so none of their losses associated with the rescue itself will be covered.

Channel 2′s Tom Regan toured the wreckage on Friday and spoke with Chirs Bishop, the founder of the rescue.

“There’s pretty much nothing left,” Bishop said. “We came out to a fire probably 70 feet tall.”

Bishop said all the dogs were terrified during the fire.

TRENDING STORIES:

• Interview with suspected school shooter’s mother grabs attention of metro Atlanta doctors
• Man charged with murder after driving away from Alpharetta homicide on motorcycle
• Marjorie Taylor Greene calls out ‘racist’ tweets against VP Kamala Harris

They’ve started an online fundraiser for those who want to help them rebuild.

“We have saved over 10,000 animals and we won’t stop now. God is good. Thank you in advance for any help you can give. We truly appreciate your help,” they wrote in the fundraiser.

There is no word on how the fire started.

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]

IN OTHER NEWS:

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene calls out ‘racist’ tweets against VP Kamala Harris “It does not represent who we are as Republicans or MAGA,” Rep. Greene wrote. “This type of behavior should not be tolerated ever.”

©2024 Cox Media Group