By Claudia Koerner
The Orange County Register
LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. — The hills in Laguna Beach are alive with more vegetation this spring, and it isn’t music to the fire department’s ears.
After several dry winters, January’s above-average rainfall has increased vegetation growth on hillsides surrounding the city. To prevent a fire hazard when that growth dries out, the ranks of the city’s four-legged firefighters will expand.
This year an additional herd of goats will patrol 640 acres of hillside firebreaks behind homes, bringing the total to about 600 in all.
City-contracted herders graze the goats in areas penned with portable fences. The goats eat native plants such as coastal sage scrub and chaparral, as well as weeds like mustard, so they are in effect clearing the firebreaks and protecting homes.
One group will begin in North Laguna, and the other will start near Mystic Hills. The goal is to get all firebreaks in the city cleared by fall.
“It’s the most cost-effective way we’ve found (to clear vegetation),” Fire Chief Kris Head said, adding that the program has been around for about 17 years.
About 100 goats graze year round, Head said. Some have questioned the goats’ impact on the hillside environment. So far, Head said there has been no evidence of negative side effects of the goat herd.
“We do keep a close eye on what they’re doing, with biologists out in the field,” Head said.
Copyright 2010 Orange County Register
All Rights Reserved