BURBANK, Calif. — Animal rescue groups are flying about 100 dogs and cats from Burbank to Seattle Sunday in an effort to relieve local animal shelters overwhelmed by the devastating Los Angeles County wildfires.

The Southern California rescue group Paws for Life K9 Rescue and the international pet air-transport operation Wings of Rescue are joining forces for the effort.

“These pets are not ones lost in the fires, but pets already in shelters,” Paws for Life officials said. “By flying these pets to safe shelters elsewhere in the country, space and resources are then available for shelters in Southern California to take in lost, hurt or abandoned pets and care for them until they can be reunited with their owners.”

Paws for Life K9 Rescue runs a number of rescue operations in Southern California and has pioneered programs in which prison inmates rehabilitate and train homeless pets so they will make good family members.

Wings of Rescue flies large, pressurized, temperature-controlled aircraft and has saved over 75,000 pets since its inception in 2012. The charity responds to disasters and transports pets from high-kill shelters to facilities where there is empty kennel space and willing adopters.

“Being based in Southern California we intimately understand the tragedy unfolding for residents and their pets hit by these devastating wildfires,” said Alex Tonner, founder of Paws for Life K9 Rescue. “We are committed to bringing every resource we can to aid the situation, and this rescue flight is an important step in helping local animal shelters do their job of securing pets needing a safe space until they can be reunited with their owners.”

Wings of Rescue CEO Ric Browde called the wildfires “among the worst we’ve ever seen. There will be many pets left homeless, lost and injured or needing temporary care while owners are staying in evacuation locations that do not allow pets. By flying out this plane full of adoptable pets, we are making room for those directly impacted by the fire.”