Posted on Aug 11, 2023
In California, wildfires are prevented by crews of unlikely firefighters: goats
696
13
3
4
4
0
https://www.npr.org/2023/08/10/ [login to see] /goat-grazing-california-wildfire-prevention
The end of a quiet residential street in Glendale, Calif., is just one of many battlegrounds in the state's annual fight against wildfire season. And it's being waged by goats.
About 300 of them are spread out along the foothills and steep ridges of the Verdugo Mountains, which loom over multi-million dollar homes at the end of a cul de sac. The goats are busy chomping away on the dried-out vegetation that's exploded after this year's drought-busting rains.
Seemingly oblivious to the 94 F heat, the animals are hard at work devouring several acres of dead, yellowed grasses, scrubby bushes and cactus, as well as some of Southern California's most invasive plants, including star thistle and black mustard.
The end of a quiet residential street in Glendale, Calif., is just one of many battlegrounds in the state's annual fight against wildfire season. And it's being waged by goats.
About 300 of them are spread out along the foothills and steep ridges of the Verdugo Mountains, which loom over multi-million dollar homes at the end of a cul de sac. The goats are busy chomping away on the dried-out vegetation that's exploded after this year's drought-busting rains.
Seemingly oblivious to the 94 F heat, the animals are hard at work devouring several acres of dead, yellowed grasses, scrubby bushes and cactus, as well as some of Southern California's most invasive plants, including star thistle and black mustard.
In California, wildfires are prevented by crews of unlikely firefighters: goats
Posted from npr.org
Glendale
State of California
Firefighting
Posted 9 mo ago
Responses: 3
3
3
0
PO1 William "Chip" Nagel makes since...
..."Anything you can do, goats can do better
Patty Mundo, vegetation management inspector for the Glendale Fire Department, said it was local residents who suggested the idea of the goats two years ago. Since then, she's brought Choi and his goats back for an annual "Bleat and Greet" event, where the community is invited to get to know the fire-fighting heroes.
It's a great way to raise awareness about the importance of proper land management, Mundo said.
"We've had many fires in that exact same hillside where the goats are," she told NPR. "And because it's right next to homes, the purpose of it was to create a buffer — a fire break — so that if we were to ever have a fire in that area, it'll stop or at the very least, slow it down."
Mundo has been working for the city since 2018, and she said there's been a fire "every single year" with the exception of 2022.
ENVIRONMENT
California Cities Turn To Hired Hooves To Help Prevent Massive Wildfires
If it were up to her, she'd lease the herd for a much longer stretch, she said. The city owns about 500 parcels of land, and with the budget that's allocated to fire prevention — $62,000, plus another $14,000 specifically for the goats — they can only afford to clear a fraction of it every year.
"It's not fair," Mundo acknowledged. In her role, she said, "I'm holding people accountable to clear their brush, but yet we can't keep up with ours."
The worst is when she gets calls from homeowners wondering when her department plans to eliminate dangerous overgrowth. "They call us to tell us they're concerned ... and it just kills me," she said.
City officials have applied for a series of grants that could more than triple Glendale's fire prevention budget, according to Mundo. That would mean more money to pay for the goats to graze for longer periods."...
..."Anything you can do, goats can do better
Patty Mundo, vegetation management inspector for the Glendale Fire Department, said it was local residents who suggested the idea of the goats two years ago. Since then, she's brought Choi and his goats back for an annual "Bleat and Greet" event, where the community is invited to get to know the fire-fighting heroes.
It's a great way to raise awareness about the importance of proper land management, Mundo said.
"We've had many fires in that exact same hillside where the goats are," she told NPR. "And because it's right next to homes, the purpose of it was to create a buffer — a fire break — so that if we were to ever have a fire in that area, it'll stop or at the very least, slow it down."
Mundo has been working for the city since 2018, and she said there's been a fire "every single year" with the exception of 2022.
ENVIRONMENT
California Cities Turn To Hired Hooves To Help Prevent Massive Wildfires
If it were up to her, she'd lease the herd for a much longer stretch, she said. The city owns about 500 parcels of land, and with the budget that's allocated to fire prevention — $62,000, plus another $14,000 specifically for the goats — they can only afford to clear a fraction of it every year.
"It's not fair," Mundo acknowledged. In her role, she said, "I'm holding people accountable to clear their brush, but yet we can't keep up with ours."
The worst is when she gets calls from homeowners wondering when her department plans to eliminate dangerous overgrowth. "They call us to tell us they're concerned ... and it just kills me," she said.
City officials have applied for a series of grants that could more than triple Glendale's fire prevention budget, according to Mundo. That would mean more money to pay for the goats to graze for longer periods."...
(3)
(0)
2
2
0
It's one of the reasons (goats) the Army used them inside ammo dumps. Keep the grass/foliage down, and didn't require gasoline mowers; or blades that could spark against a hard object.
(2)
(0)
2
2
0
Very effective in truth. They clear weeds and other grasses that burn. That's what they needed in Hawaii where they let fields go fallow and got invasive grasses that died and became fire fodder
(2)
(0)
Read This Next
Continue with Facebook 
Continue with Google