Emu Escaping Wildfire Watches As Homes Go Up In Flames

Wildfires ravaging southern California amid a brutal heat wave have forced many people from their homes. But wildlife in the area is also being affected.

Photographers on Monday spotted an emu feeling the Border Fire, which has been raging since Sunday in the small Potrero community just outside San Diego. The fire has already consumed 6,500 acres and forced the evacuation of roughly 100 homes in the area.

Most birds simply fly away during a wildfire while larger mammals run; emus, which are among the largest birds in the world, can't fly.

They're native to Australia but are particularly populous in California and Texas after being brought to the U.S. to be raised for meat and oil.

While at least one Potrero-area emu was escorted to safety by border patrol, not all wildlife is under threat during a wildfire.

As National Geographic notes, creatures that don't flee hunker down near rivers and streams, burrow into the ground or hide under rocks. And some organisms like fungi or trees (think the Morel mushroom or great sequoias) actually need wildfires to reproduce.

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