A small California town isn’t kidding around when it comes to fire safety.
Nevada City, located 80 miles away from the town of Paradise, which was razed by the deadly Camp Fire blaze, had a novel idea to fight wildfires — goats. The animals are perfect for eating up the kind of scrub and brush that fuels such wildfires.
So the 3,100-person town launched a crowdfunding effort dubbed the “Goat Fund Me” campaign last month to bring in the animals to help clear the brush on hundreds of city-owned acres.
“If we’re not proactive, if we don’t help ourselves, no one else is going to step up,” Vice Mayor Reinette Senum told The Los Angeles Times.
The town’s 450 acres of greenbelt makes them especially vulnerable to fires, Senum said.
They had raised close to $11,500 of their $30,000 goal by Sunday.
Senum is hoping to meet the fundraising goal quickly, since the town only has this winter to rent out the goats and put them to work.
Local ranchers have already rented out their herds for next spring, summer and fall, Senum said.
Laguna Beach has already launched a herd to feast on the city’s slopes to reduce the threat of brush fires for years. The Irvine Ranch Conservancy also uses the goats to restore native grasses.
“These goats, they’re easy on the land,” Senum said, “they’ve got little hooves and have a low impact compared to heavy machinery.”