Surviving the Tubbs Fire to Save Safari West | Peter Lang's Pathway to Peak Performance

Jock Putney: Along comes this fire, the Tubbs Fire, and it’s massive. We opened the front door and the mountain was ablaze. This was an act of God—or an act of PG&E, actually. It seems to me that you would have laid down your life to save as many animals as you possibly could.

Peter Lang: I never thought about it at the moment. It was too damn hot and too much going on to be emotional. I just needed to get to where I could do the most good. In retrospect, I look back at that; it was the epitome of good training and preparedness meeting disaster. I have never asked anybody to do something I haven’t done or wouldn’t do myself.

Jock Putney: Hey, one of the things we’ve noticed is that 90% of you who watch the show regularly have yet to subscribe. You can really help the channel by hitting the subscribe button, liking, commenting, and sharing. We really appreciate it. Now, let’s start the show. Peter Lang, welcome to the Pathway to Peak Performance. So great to have you, my friend. How are you?

Peter Lang: Terrific, and I'm really looking forward to this show.

Jock Putney: Outstanding. As you know, every guest who comes to the show picks their charity, and all of the proceeds from the episode go to that charity. Yours is the Safari West Zoological Society. Great. All right, so the other thing we do is go all the way back to understand your pathway to peak performance. You have such an interesting story. Take us through your childhood to where you are today.

Chapter 2: Peter’s Early Life & Background

Peter Lang: It really begins with my father, who came out of Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, in an ox cart in 1910. I find it remarkable that in the 1900s, ox carts were still a mode of transportation. He came to the US and married my very delightful, beautiful mother, the daughter of an Admiral. He was a skier from Austria. Their lives went on, and shortly thereafter, I was born in 1941.

I remember traversing the United States with my dad in a car, with skis running from the back window to the front window. That was my "bridge" to get from the back seat to the front seat. We were on our way to Sun Valley, Idaho, where he was the head and founder of the ski school. This led to his remarkable career in the film industry. But it’s about me, not him, so I’ll start with my own memories.

I remember living on Coldwater Canyon in Beverly Hills, which back then was really out in the woods. I was always up in the hills finding critters. I remember one time telling my father, "I found a lobster!" Of course, there are no lobsters there. I had caught it in a little cardboard box, and it was actually a scorpion. But because it had claws and a tail, I just thought it was a lobster.

Chapter 3: Formative Years & Early Love for Animals

Peter Lang: Going to grammar school, I remember giving a talk to my class about birds. The following year, they were pruning the palm trees surrounding the school and a nest of baby barn owls fell out. There were about half a dozen of them. These landscape guys were trying to figure out what to do, and I said, "Get a box. I’m going to call my mom and take them home."

She came down, and we took them home. I looked up what to feed them, and at the time, beef heart was the food of choice. I raised them in the backyard in a big cardboard box, and one by one, they flew away. After that, the landscape crews knew about me. Every once in a while, they’d call my mom and say, "We’ve got another box of birds for Peter." Another time, they called about a baby raven. I took him home, raised him, and named him Mr. Poe, of course. Those were very formative experiences for my interest in animals.

Chapter 4: A Life-Changing Bicycle Accident

Peter Lang: I had a horrific bicycle accident when I was in the fourth or fifth grade. I was hit by a car, and my leg was badly shattered. When my dad was at the hospital, two of the three doctors recommended amputation. The youngest doctor, Ed Lamanek—a name I’ll never forget—said, "I think I can save that boy’s leg." I spent a year and a half in a wheelchair and then a long time on crutches. That was probably the reason I didn’t do well in school from that point on. I’d missed so much. When algebra started in junior high, I really knew I was in trouble.

Chapter 5: Early Career: Tuna Fishing & Car Sales

Peter Lang: I didn't graduate from high school. My dad had done a TV show about tuna boats, so I used his connections to get a job on one. It paid very well, but you’d be at sea for a long time—the shortest trip was 41 days. I had a cute girlfriend at the time and knew the sea life wouldn't serve the relationship, so I stopped fishing and started selling cars at a Pontiac dealership in West LA.

I’ve had two "jobs" in my life: tuna fishing and selling cars. Otherwise, because of my lack of education, I had to go into business for myself. Through the car business, I started redying leather interiors in old Cadillacs. That led to an upholstery business, which led to furniture refinishing. While I was refinishing, people would ask, "Can you build me a chest of drawers to match my dining set?" I’d say sure, but I realized the cabinet makers I hired weren't good at detailing. I had to do the finish work myself, and eventually, I developed into a cabinet maker.

I eventually married that girl I mentioned earlier. We had two lovely kids, but unfortunately, we got a divorce. Out of every misfortune comes fortune. I had always thought about becoming a furniture manufacturer.

Chapter 6: Furniture Manufacturing & Entrepreneurship

Peter Lang: Now I’m divorced with nothing to lose, so I go into the furniture manufacturing business. I ended up with five showrooms across the US, manufacturing a line of antique reproductions under the name "Peter Lang." My dad, who had retired from the film industry, managed my San Francisco showroom. Eventually, I sold that company. I said I was going to take a year off to build a house. Everyone told me, "Peter, you don't know how to build a house," and I said, "I can build a chair. If I can build a chair, I can build a house."

Chapter 7: Father's Influence & Film Industry Background

Jock Putney: I know your father had a tremendous influence on you. He was prolific in Sun Valley skiing, and by the time you were in Beverly Hills, he was deep into film and TV. What was the name of the show where they gave you two lion cubs to raise?

Peter Lang: The show was Daktari. My dad was actually a four-time Academy Award nominee for short subjects. His first nomination was in the same year Walt Disney made The Living Desert, which was remarkable. This was around 1951 to 1953, back when Disney was still mostly making cartoons like Donald Duck.

Later, my dad did shows like Sea Hunt, Cheyenne, and Bat Masterson. He also did Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion. Mel Cown was the trainer for Clarence. Jungleland in Thousand Oaks was where all the West Coast circus and movie people wintered their animals.

Chapter 8: Raising Lion Cubs & Lessons Learned

Peter Lang: When they started Daktari, I was 12 turning 13. Mel Cown asked me if I would raise two lion cubs from Easter vacation through the summer. I lived on Weatherly Drive, and I had a downstairs bedroom that was almost like a converted basement. The lions and I lived there until September.

When I first got them, they were barely bigger than a shoebox. On rare occasions, I’d take them on a leash, get on the bus at Sunset and Doheny, and go out to State Beach. Pretty soon, they were bigger than a Springer Spaniel and very rambunctious. That experience taught me why I never wanted lions later in life; I knew they’d grow up to be a handful. I had no idea back then what a "chick magnet" I could have been with those cubs; I just took them home and had fun.

Chapter 9: Building a House & Real Estate Adventures

Peter Lang: After furniture manufacturing and building my house—which was a marvelous success—I bought a piece of property that LA Magazine later called "the last cattle ranch in Beverly Hills." To tie my timeline together: I was married in my 20s, divorced at 28, and remarried four years later at 32. I’ve actually been married three times, and all three ladies were an absolute delight. Usually, you hear people never want to talk to their exes again, but to me, that’s just a reflection of your own bad taste in the first place.

Jock Putney: You're a persistent guy. Whatever you decide to do, you do it until you’re done, and then you close that chapter. So, when did you get interested in exotic African animals?

Chapter 10: Discovering Sonoma County & Buying the Ranch

Peter Lang: It was just fascinating. I decided I wanted to get out of LA. A buddy told me to look at Sonoma County, specifically Santa Rosa. I found this one ranch. I was down to the last few days to conclude a deal for a tax exchange. I contacted the lawyer representing the owner, and all the faxes were going back and forth to Amsterdam. I ended up buying the ranch for just a little over a third of the asking price. It was a very good buy.

Six months later, I’m remodeling when I see a picture of my property in the newspaper. It turned out the previous owner was a drug dealer who had just been arrested. The neighbors hated him because the foreman used to threaten people with guns for trespassing. It took a while to patch up those neighborhood relations.

Chapter 11: Establishing Safari West

Peter Lang: When I moved up there in the late '80s, I brought about 150 different animals. One reason I liked the ranch was the New Zealand fencing—high-tension electric wires with no barbs. I turned a group of zebras loose, and the next morning, I had zebras all over the neighborhood. The fencer told me, "Once an animal gets its head through, they don't have reverse." So I spent a lot of time replacing that with game fencing.

During this time, I met and married Nancy Scofield. We’ve been married over 30 years now. I told her I had to go back to work, and we had two choices: I could go back into construction, which I was burned out on, or we could do Safari West. Around that time, Sonoma County started an "Open Space" program. We decided to sell our development entitlements to Open Space and use that money as seed money for the park.

On a shoestring, we built every enclosure, pond, and road. I’d go on road trips twice a year to build the collection. Safari West isn't a typical zoo; it’s a morning or afternoon game drive equivalent to what you’d get in Kenya. We have species from all over Africa—like Hartman’s Mountain Zebras, which you won't see in Kenya but will see in South Africa.

Chapter 12: The 2017 Tubbs Fire: Night of the Disaster

Jock Putney: Safari West became a jewel of Sonoma County. Then along comes the Tubbs Fire in 2017.

Peter Lang: It has more emotional impact on me today than it did then. At 10:00 PM the night of the fire, our mechanic, Brian Jellison, called us. Nancy answered, and he said, "You better get out of there." Ten minutes later, he was at our door. We opened it, and the mountain was ablaze. Nancy loaded our three dogs into her car. I moved one car out of the garage—which was a mistake; I never got the smoke smell out and would have been better off with the insurance money.

We left with only the clothes on our backs. At Safari West, the guests were lined up with their baggage. Our staff was checking them off a list to make sure everyone was accounted for. It was the epitome of good training. Once the guests were out, I disappeared into the park. It was too hot to be emotional. I saw fires I could reach with a garden hose. I was able to ensure the cheetahs, hyenas, and monkeys didn't burn up.

Chapter 13: Surviving and Protecting the Animals

Peter Lang: All night long, if I saw something catch fire, I’d put it out or push it away with heavy equipment. I saw a water truck with the driver's side on fire; I jumped in, reversed it six feet out of the flames, and we still use that truck today. I found a group of Nyala huddled in a corner with a grass fire pushing toward them. I climbed an 8-foot fence, dropped in, and slapped one on the rear so they’d all jump out. It was a lot easier to jump in than it was to jump out once the adrenaline started to fade. I was alone until 7:30 the next morning.

Jock Putney: You won the Red Cross "Hero of the Year" award for that.

Peter Lang: I’d forgotten all about it; I don't even know where it is. Knowing I made a difference means more. Interestingly, our neighbors thanked us for "overgrazing." We feed our animals every day, but because they eat the grass down, there was no fuel for the fire. That actually saved the surrounding neighborhood.

Chapter 14: Red Cross Award & Lessons on Preparedness

Jock Putney: You were out there in a flow state, not even feeling fear. It seems you would have laid down your life for those animals.

Peter Lang: I never thought about it that way. I was always looking for an escape path, but I also wasn't going to let anything burn. It was relentless busyness. I’d drive a jeep over creeping fires or shovel dirt where I couldn't drive.

Jock Putney: For young entrepreneurs, the takeaway is your incredible drive to never give up. You’ve had four distinct careers: furniture manufacturer, developer, contractor, and Safari West.

Peter Lang: I am huge on trades. When I hire, I just want a good, hard worker—someone who has shown stability at even a "crummy" job. I want to train them myself. My "life diploma" was my contractor's license. At Safari West, we employ 150 people. Nancy and I have both washed dishes, scoured pots, and cleaned up after animals. I have never asked anybody to do something I haven't done or wouldn't do myself.

Jock Putney: One of my favorite lines of all time. Peter, thank you so much. It was great to have you.

Peter Lang: My pleasure.