900 Goats Are Reporting For Work In Palos Verdes Estates

PALOS VERDES, CA — Nearly 1,000 goats will report for duty in Palos Verdes Estates over the next two weeks as part of an effort to cut back vegetation to reduce fire risk, county officials announced Thursday.

The 900 goats will eat weeds and other overgrown vegetation in 37 acres of parkland, with a focus on hard-to-reach hillside areas inValmonte Canyon and the Palos Verdes stables, Lunada Canyon, the hillside between Via Boronado and Espinosa Circle, and the hillside below Via Pinzon and Mirlo Gate House — zones deemed extremely high priority by Los Angeles County officials.

Some 400 goats got to work in Valmonte Canyon Thursday. The clearing effort there could take a week and a half to complete, official said.

Additional goats will be deployed elsewhere next week. The brush clearance is expected to be complete by the end of the month.

The city of Palos Verdes Estates contracted with Fire Grazers Inc., for the goats and brush clearance services. The company has done similar goat-powered work on the peninsula in the past.

County Supervisor Janice Hahn's office will reimburse the city for the cost of the $67,000 contract.

"The natural canyons and hills of the Palos Verdes Peninsula are beautiful but they put this area at greater risk for wildfires," Hahn said in a statement. "Mayor Victoria Lozzi told me that her city needed help with brush clearance and I was happy to offer my office's support. If you see the goats this month in Palos Verdes Estates, know that they are hard at work making this community safer."