[www.bbc.com]

A hungry herd of 500 goats has helped save the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library from the California wildfires.

In May, the library hired the goats to clear flammable scrub surrounding the complex as a preventative measure.
The goats ate the brush, creating a fire break that slowed the flames and gave firefighters extra time to react.

The library near Los Angeles was threatened by the Easy Fire, the latest in a spate of fires causing evacuations and power cuts across the state.
The caprine contractors included Vincent van Goat, Selena Goatmez and Goatzart. They helped save exhibits including an Air Force One jet and a piece of the Berlin Wall.
"We were told by one of the firefighters that they believe that fire break made their job easier," Melissa Giller, a library spokeswoman, told Reuters.

Clearing out flammable brush, what a concept.

Reagan would obviously have approved: [www.youtube.com]

California should have cleared a wide swath underneath power lines as well. That would have greatly reduced the number of fires. And kept the power on.

Young goats or old goats?

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Buck
California should have cleared a wide swath underneath power lines as well. That would have greatly reduced the number of fires. And kept the power on.

That's not really possible. It's too much real estate.

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Buck
California should have cleared a wide swath underneath power lines as well. That would have greatly reduced the number of fires. And kept the power on.

Responsibility for clearing goes to the utilities, not the state. From all reports at least one utility used the money that should have gone to that for executive bonuses.

Even so, how many of the fires trace back that kind of starting point? From reading reports over the years, just a fraction.

Washington DOT advocate for use of goats to clear brush.

[www.wsdot.wa.gov]

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Ammo
Young goats or old goats?

Wouldn't they be equally hungry?

Ventura County brought the idea to the Library and The goat program is organized and paid for by the fire department, so no special clearance is required to have the goats on property.

The goats came from the government and they were there to help. RR must be rolling over in his grave.

.....billy goat....gruff.....???

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I reject your reality and substitute my own!

over the summer, we had a team of 34 goats at our house to clear out ivy and brush in our yard They did a great job and were a total hit with the neighbors,

Goats!!

Brush clearance by goats is very common in my neck of the woods. Many of the park districts, utilities and local governments use them. Way better than the guys with string trimmers.

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"In science it often happens that scientists say, 'You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken,' and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion." (1987) -- Carl Sagan

do the goats also eat the dead and rotting leaves and flora?

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mrbigstuff
do the goats also eat the dead and rotting leaves and flora?

They'll eat damn near anything. The problem with goats is to them "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence", so they prefer the neighbors yard to your own. My Dad solved that problem by giving his herd of goats to his neighbor.

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ztirffritz
Washington DOT advocate for use of goats to clear brush.

[www.wsdot.wa.gov]

I see them around Seattle every now and then. Usually hillsides. They always make me smile. Amazing what they can do to a hillside of blackberry brush.