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From hilly San Francisco to more rural settings, California
landowners, business and officials have hired the voracious
animals to devour the grass and brush that fuels wildfires.
Last year, more than 5,500 fires blackened over 168,000
acres in the most populous U.S. state.
"Goats are just another tool in the toolbox for
California and we try to use as many tools as possible,"
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
spokesman Michael Jarvis said in an interview last week.
Goats are munching on vegetation that is thriving throughout
the state after an exceptionally wet winter.
Some herds are doing double duty: preventing fires
and protecting homeland security.
Bob Blanchard, a rancher in Cayucos, California, near
the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant, said his herds
of Spanish meat goats devour brush around the plant
and on the rugged hillsides under high-voltage power
lines.
"Fire safety is one part and plant security is
the other part. The security people there want to be
able to see over the whole area," Blanchard said.
His herds, ranging in size from 300 to 700 goats, are
working under a 10-year contract with Diablo Canyon
owner PG&E Corp. .
Diablo Canyon spokesman Jeff Lewis said, "The
goats give us a good firebreak under the transmission
lines and we don't have to rely on any insecticides
or controlled burns."
Three shepherd dogs are assigned to each herd to foil
attacks by coyotes or cougars looking for a meal.
Goatherds have been deployed in urban settings as well.
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission hired
herds from Goats R Us, of Orinda, California, to keep
the land around the city's 13 reservoirs tidy and to
chow down on dried flammable brush, PUC spokeswoman
Maureen Barry said.
"Did you know that goats once grazed on Russian
Hill before it was built up?" Barry asked. "Well,
now they're back and the city is getting excellent results."
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