January 26, 1999

FIREFIGHTING GOATS GET THE NOD FROM FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY

A battalion of grazing goats will soon become the newest weapon in Los Angeles County’s firefighting arsenal under an innovative new program underwritten by FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Administration).

The plan calls for deploying goats in the Santa Monica Mountains to help maintain the 113-acre Etz-Meloy Fuelbreak, located atop one of the area’s many remote ridges. Firefighters use fuelbreaks to slow the advance of wildfires by reducing their intensity, giving crews the opportunity to gain control of the blazes.

Agencies have traditionally maintained the fuelbreaks with hand crews, heavy equipment and herbicides, but a budget analysis suggests that grazing goats could cut the cost significantly while at the same time offering an environmentally sensitive alternative to chemicals and clear-cutting. County officials estimate the maintenance cost of hand crews at $1,750 per acre, while a flock of goats is expected to run between $225-$300 an acre.

Fire officials said that in the event the grazing goats prove ineffective, they will revert to controlled burns, expected to cost roughly the same. The program will be funded through a $161,360 FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant.

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