WASHINGTON — These little guys must have been shellshocked.
The consequences of a large fire that engulfed several town houses under construction in Prince George’s County, Maryland, on Wednesday could have been much worse. There were no civilian or firefighter injuries — and two eastern box turtles caught in the flames’ path were saved.
The two reptiles were discovered by Park Ranger Michael Ellis, who spotted them while surveying the area around the fast-moving fire in Lanham.
“I managed to move two turtles to safety before the flames engulfed the forest at the end of Aerospace Road and Forbes Boulevard,” Ellis said in a news release.
“Hopefully no people or creatures were harmed in [Wednesday’s] massively destructive fire!”
Eastern box turtles are known to live for dozens of years, and they inhabit a relatively small territory during that time.
According to Prince George’s Fire and EMS, the cause of the blaze remains unknown but damage from the fire is estimated at $8.9 million.
There is no word on whether the turtles were teenagers, mutants or were considering fighting crime.
