These goats are 'constantly eating' to prevent wildfires in the California countryside

As It Happens5:47How goats are working to prevent wildfires in California

There's a crew of firefighters gaining renown for their work to keep California safe from wildfires. Each member of the team has a great work ethic, a mean appetite — and four legs.

"They're constantly eating. I mean, they've got several stomachs," Michael Choi, owner of Fire Grazers Inc., told As It Happens host Nil Köksal.

"I like to say that they eat their food twice and that's how much they love to do it."

The goats' buffet turns into a buffer for potential wildfires. All that munching clears away the fuel a wildfire needs to spread.

Choi's business organizes a herd of about 900 goats that eat their way through the brush of California. He'll typically take a herd of 300 of them at a time, who can then eat up to an acre of brush a day.

And as North America recovers from one of its worst wildfire seasons ever, Choi says his goats are playing an important role in prevention.  

Working with goats

While a common motto in Hollywood advises TV and film crews against working with animals, Choi says his goats are splendid workers.

They don't mind the heat, and don't need much more than water and their work to keep them happy, he said. They can handle whatever landscape is thrown at them, from grassy flat lands to steep slopes. They do need some protection, but Choi says a well-trained dog can keep predators away.

Choi also has to set up fences to make sure the goats stay eating where they are supposed to; otherwise they might end up in somebody's orchard. 

"That's a constant conflict of us trying to say, hey, only eat this stuff," said Choi.  

"They eat it pretty much as well as a fire department would require, down to like three inches of brush on the ground. And I mean, in the process, they also treat soil with their fertilizer and their hooves, and get it all nice and ready for the next rain." 

And because a goat's digestive system is so intense, the seeds of any invasive plant species they chow down on won't have a chance at growing from that fertilizer.

Busy summer

Choi and the goats have had their work cut out for them this year. A deadly winter of rain has led to more plant growth across the state. Some years, Choi and the goats are done by September, but this year he estimates they will be working until November.

They've had so many requests for their services, Choi needed to get more goats. Choi and his goats have worked with cities, home owner associations, and conservancy organizations across California. But he says not enough people are preparing for the damage forest fires can do.

It's a practice that is being utilized in Canada as well. The city of Quesnel, B.C., started using goats this summer to chow down on invasive species and reduce wildfire fuel.

Choi says he has seen the effectiveness of goats first hand. He lives in Mariposa, Calif., a small community east of San Jose, and has had to evacuate his home because of fires before. And for a man with dogs, chickens and a lot of goats, that's not easy.

He's had a wildfire go through his property in the past, but he credits the handy work of his goats for protecting the house.

"Thankfully, you know, because of the work we do, our house was protected," said Choi. "A bunch of my neighbours lost their house. We were like the one house and surrounding us, everyone lost their homes."

Choi says people need to take the threat of wildfires more seriously.  

"I think that preparing for fire is one of those things that kind of slips out of our mind … because we don't expect it to happen to us. We expect it to happen to someone else. But getting ready for that eventuality needs to start now," said Choi.