How Goats May Help Fight Wildfires

Wildfires in dry western states are getting more frequent, bigger and more destructive every year. The continuing drought and the buildup of dead vegetation create the perfect conditions for devastating megablazes. In 2021 alone, California lost two million acres of wilderness to wildfire.

As the indigenous Yurok people have known for centuries, effective fire fighting starts long before the first spark. In northern California, they use regular, controlled burns to reduce the understory, eliminating the fuel that feeds wildfires. (Three pottery items on our website are named in honor of their work.)

In the past, land managers have used herbicides and human labor to thin dried brush in order to lessen the amount of flammable material available to fires. But the runoff from chemical herbicides creates other environmental problems and accessing the mountain terrain in southern California can be difficult. Also, traditional clearing practices can leave seeds behind that germinate the following year.

Enter a four-legged solution—goats! Voracious eaters and great climbers, goats will happily roam a hillside, gobbling up any plants they find, including the invasive black mustard plants which grow up to eight feet tall in the spring then die by early summer, creating tinder. One hundred goats can clear an acre a day. Plus, any weed seeds that go through their digestive tracts become nonviable in the process.

About a dozen companies in southern California now offer goat rental and California’s Department of Forestry and Fire Protection has given a grant to Puente Hills Preserve in a pilot program to use goats to reduce fuel load and lower the risk of wildfire. Goats have been used for hundreds of years to clear land of vegetation, but their role in wildfire prevention is new. As wildfires worsen worldwide, other western states as well as Greece and Australia are embracing goats as a new weapon in the fight.