‘Cat’-astrophe averted | Rock Island crew saves Orcas cat ‘up a tree’ for three days

Submitted by Rock Island

Rock Island responded to a call from Orcas Island Fire and Rescue on Saturday morning, April 7, 2018, to assist in rescuing a cat. “Bea,” an 8-month-old kitten, had been stuck in a tree for three days. By Saturday morning, he had climbed nearly 70 feet up the tree, and out of the reach of OIFR ground ladders.

“Bea looked like a little Christmas-tree ornament swaying in the wind. That’s when we called Rock Island. They told us personnel would respond with a 114-foot articulating boom truck,” said Patrick Shepler, battalion chief and paramedic for OIFR. “Rock Island’s Alan Smith and Chris Arp arrived within the hour, and safely returned a cold and hungry Bea to her grateful owner.”

Safety is a top priority for OPALCO and Rock Island, and both organizations have a long history of pulling together with other island organizations to meet the needs of their members and customers.

“We all play multiple roles in our small island community, and that’s what makes living here so great,” said Dan Burke, senior vice president of sales and operations for Rock Island. “We love helping our safety agencies and other islanders whenever we can. We are grateful to get the call.”

Fire Chief Scott Williams was happy to see the successful outcome. “This is a great example of inter-agency operations working together to help our community,” said Williams.

Rock Island Communications provides modern, scalable and reliable Internet services to homes and businesses in San Juan County. They are a wholly-owned subsidiary of Orcas Power & Light Cooperative. For more information, visit rockisland.com.