City Threatened with Destruction by Wildfire Calls a Farmer

What began in 2014 as an alternative to lawn mowers has become a strategy that helped West Sacramento, 🌴California, avoid damage from a recent wildfire.

The answer was not high technology, but a flock of hungry goats.

“Goats are really hard workers — they’ll eat anything down to four inches,” Paul Hosley, a spokesman for the city, said, according to The Washington Post.

The goats’ work paid off in late May when a 10-acre wildfire heading toward a condominium complex in West Sacramento died before the flames could reach any buildings.

The fire stopped because it hit what is known as a firebreak, an area without the vegetation needed to keep the flames going. Weeks before, the area was the grazing spot for 400 rented goats that chewed until they were full and the spot was empty.

“It almost looks like a moonscape after they go through,” Hosley said. “They’re good for the environment, and everyone around here loves them.”

“They can get into places where mowers can’t go, they eat all day without complaining, and the fertilizer is free of charge.”

Goat labor is not cheap. The city paid $150,000 to hire a floppy-eared herd from Western Grazers, also known as Blue Tent Farms.