The Ventura County Fire Department enlisted the help of about 700 goats to clear dry brush from the grounds of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in California.
A video shared by the fire department shows the release of the first goats onto the property, where they will be fenced in to eat the grass and brush in a focused manner.
The goats were provided by Ventura Brush Goats, a family-owned service that sends the animals to graze fire breaks and invasive brush. According to the company, the goats “happily munch through thick stands of thistles, poison oak, and other species that are difficult and expensive to remove by hand.”
The goats will be on the property for about two weeks, the fire department said. They will be out 24 hours a day, but the fire department said their herder has a working dog out with them for protection at night.
The fire department has contacted property owners on or near open spaces throughout the county as part of the Fuel Hazard Reduction Program, regulating vegetation growth to limit the spread of wildfires.
