As fires rage in California, causing thousands of people to be evacuated from their homes, a rescue from the Maria Fire in Ventura County is getting a lot of attention for its feel-good ending. And it involves an owl.

An injured great horned owl with penetrating yellow eyes was found Saturday by Ventura County firefighters in the ashes of a scorched canyon. The rescuers wrapped the owl in a flame-resistant firefighter’s jacket — the bird’s seemingly alarmed face peering out — and took several photos. They named the owl Ram after the Los Angeles football team.

After Ram was taken to the Camarillo Wildlife Rehabilitation center to recover, the photos of the bird started racking up a lot of love on social media. The care that firefighters showed Ram caused a wave of grateful people to express thanks to the rescuers for going above and beyond.

On Twitter, the firefighters were called heroes, and people left comments such as: “@VCFD will give the coat off their backs to save a life” and “Thank you for caring for all creatures” and “Thank You For Your Service and Protecting All including this Beautiful Owl. God Bless!”

The Maria Fire, which began on Halloween, caused more than 10,000 people to be evacuated from the Ventura County area, about 70 miles from Los Angeles.

The owl was discovered Saturday in the ashes of a canyon as a fire crew was clearing brittle trees and other hazards, according to Ventura fire. One crew member, identified as firefighter Caleb Amico by the VC Star, wrapped the owl in his jacket for the safety of the firefighters and the bird.

Camarillo Wildlife Rehabilitation posted on Facebook that Ram was “found amoung the ashes, disoriented and suffering from smoke inhalation and a bad case of flat flies. Thanks to these courageous men, he will make a full recovery and be released back to his territory as soon as it’s safe to do so.”

Many thanks to the hard working VCFD handcrew who saved the life of this beautiful great horned owl. He was found amoung...

Posted by Camarillo Wildlife Rehabilitation on Sunday, November 3, 2019

There have been no human injuries or deaths reported in the Maria Fire, but there have been serious challenges. The first night of the blaze, when authorities were dropping water from helicopters, they had to stop abruptly after encountering a drone.

“This created quite a dangerous situation,” Ventura County Sheriff Bill Ayub told KTLA TV. “It’s not only illegal, but it hampers our firefighting effort.”

As of Tuesday, the blaze was about 95 percent contained, according to Ventura fire. The department posted a video update on Twitter about Ram’s condition, predicting that the owl soon would be released. The news was met with celebration.

And this being the Internet, photos of Ram also brought their share of jokes.

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