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A small town in California is evacuating its citizens to make way for the migration of the monarch butterfly, a milkweed butterfly species that is on pace to becoming extinct within the next 16 days. The eastern North American monarch population is notable for its annual fall migration from the northern U.S. region to areas west of the Rockies, including small west coast towns like Ferndale, which has a population of about a thousand.

Ferndale citizens have been mandated to re-locate their homes to ensure that the butterfly species has a safe place to vacation during the winter months. Citizens are overwhelmingly supporting the mandatory (and permanent) evacuation, which was issued on Wednesday.

“I’m happy to take one for the team,” said Ferndale native Percy Jacobson, an avid bird watcher and the most popular barista at the town’s local coffee shop. “I have my eyes set on Los Angeles. I hear there are plenty of jobs in the retail beverage industry.”

“As humans, it’s the least we could do,” echoed Sharon Ivanblatt, an 87-year-old who recently sold her fertilizer company. “These beautiful creatures need a home. I imagine they populated this country before Americans confiscated all this land. ‘All heil the Monarch Butterfly!’ is my new motto.”

On a related note, Ferndale will become a second home to Sierra Pacific Industries, the second largest lumber producer in the United States.