ORANGE — Animals from the Orange County Zoo were on their way home Tuesday after being evacuated to Santa Ana the day before, when Canyon Fire 2 burned into the Irvine Regional Park area.

The zoo, which focuses on species native to the Southwest, is home to many rescued and rehabilitated animals – including its two biggest residents, the black bears Elinor and Yo-Yo.

Park Ranger Marcy Crede-Booth and OC Zoo Curator David Place carry an eagle back into the zoo as they return animals to their home in Irvine Regional Park in Orange, CA on Tuesday, October 10, 2017. The animals stayed overnight at the Santa Ana Zoo. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Zoo Curator David Place, center, and Zoo Manager Donald Zeigler release coyotes George and Gracie back into their pen as they return animals to the OC Zoo in Irvine Regional Park in Orange, CA on Tuesday, October 10, 2017. The animals stayed overnight at the Santa Ana Zoo. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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Park Rangers Tomas Chavez, left, and Marcy Crede-Booth unload Charlie the serval as they return animals to the OC Zoo in Irvine Regional Park in Orange, CA on Tuesday, October 10, 2017. The animals stayed overnight at the Santa Ana Zoo. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Zoo Manager Donald Zeigler secures the goats as they return animals to the OC Zoo in Irvine Regional Park in Orange, CA on Tuesday, October 10, 2017. The animals stayed overnight at the Santa Ana Zoo. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Park Ranger Tomas Chavez, left, helps Zoo Curator David Place unload animals as they are returned to the zoo in Irvine Regional Park in Orange, CA on Tuesday, October 10, 2017. The animals were evacuated to the Santa Ana Zoo on Monday. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)



An eagle is back in its habitat after animals were returned to the OC Zoo in Irvine Regional Park in Orange, CA on Tuesday, October 10, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Zoo Manager Donald Zeigler carries a raccoon as Rangers return animals to the OC Zoo in Irvine Regional Park in Orange, CA on Tuesday, October 10, 2017. The animals stayed overnight at the Santa Ana Zoo. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Charlie the Serval doesn’t seem to like his picture taken as the animals return to the OC Zoo in Irvine Regional Park in Orange, CA on Tuesday, October 10, 2017. The animals stayed overnight at the Santa Ana Zoo. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Park Ranger Marcy Crede-Booth helps Zoo Manager Donald Zeigler unload a goat as they return animals to the OC Zoo in Irvine Regional Park in Orange, CA on Tuesday, October 10, 2017. The animals stayed overnight at the Santa Ana Zoo. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Other animals at the zoo include mountain lions, an ocelot, goats, bobcats and many more.

On Tuesday, 100 animals were returned to the zoo, including most of the small birds, mammals and reptiles, as well as a number of medium-sized species. The remaining 30 animals will be brought back in the coming days, with the bears and mountain lions bringing up the rear by Friday.

Stacy Blackwood, director of OC Parks, said all of the zoo’s animals were safely evacuated to the Santa Ana Zoo, where they were kept safe, well-fed and away from the public eye.

“The fact that everybody got out safe and sound was a miracle,” Blackwood said. “We are overwhelmingly and tremendously grateful to our friends at the Santa Ana Zoo for taking us in.”

The fire that raged across north Orange County on Monday came extremely close to the zoo, Blackwood said.

Portions of the zoo’s exterior fence line were burned, and the nearby Peacock Hills Equestrian Center’s stables were significantly damaged, she said. Volunteers worked to evacuate about 150 horses from the stables Monday.

Zoo staff put the smaller animals in cages – larger animals such as the bears and mountain lions had to be tranquilized before being transported.

The evacuated animals were housed in an isolated portion of the Santa Ana Zoo away from public view, said Kent Yamaguchi, director of the Santa Ana Zoo.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) gave zoo officials clearance to move the animals back Tuesday afternoon, Blackwood said. The remainder of the park will take at least several days to be cleared for public access.

Zoos normally have emergency plans and agreements with other zoos should animals need to be moved, said Yamaguchi.

“We have a lot have quarantine facilities, hospital facilities and then just other open stalls and places to put animals if we need to move them around, and it’s very fortunate that all of ours were empty,” he said. “It’s all about the animals.”

The zoo had undergone an emergency drill just a week before the fire, which helped the evacuation run as smoothly as possible, Blackwood said.

“In an emergency like this, our training and preparation is what made the day,” Blackwood. “But we were extremely fortunate to have great partners. We had a lot of support from OC Animal Care, who brought in vehicles to transport animals at the last minute. We had planned, we had trained – obviously the best plans can go awry in an emergency situation, but in this case, it worked extraordinarily well.”

As of Tuesday night, the fire was 40 percent contained, Orange County Fire Authority officials said.

The 475-acre Irvine Park is also home to the popular Irvine Park Railroad, playgrounds, ball fields and hiking areas. The park remained closed Tuesday, as did Santiago Oaks and Peters Canyon regional parks.

Staff Writers Heather McRea and Chris Haire contributed to this report.