After the Eaton Fire, there was a unified never-again whatever it takes attitude in Altadena and Pasadena.
For the most part, the City has taken steps to mitigate the chances of experiencing the widespread destruction that left Altadena resembling a war zone after the Eaton Fire swept through my hometown.
In case you forgot, the blaze broke out on January 7, 2025 driven by powerful Santa Ana winds into the foothill communities of Altadena and Pasadena. It destroyed 9,418 structures and damaged more than 1,070 others, according to Cal Fire. At least 19 people died. The fire burned roughly 14,000 acres over 24 days before it was fully contained on January 31, 2025.
But now a key part of the mitigation has some people concerned.
The City has released 600 goats into the Arroyo Seco as part of the fire mitigation.
Of course the program has its supporters and critics.
The goats are headed east and the San Rafael Neighborhood Association advised its members that the City and the One Arroyo Foundation notified the board that the City contractor (CAPRA Environmental) has agreed to extend goat services to those San Rafael homes directly adjacent to the city property/Arroyo where work will be occurring.
Great idea.
On the other hand, the Arroyo Seco Foundation wants the program stopped until a plan can be put in place that includes guidelines, daily monitoring and a detailed program review.
Goats eat just about everything—dry brush, weeds, bushes and low-hanging leaves—all of which can fuel fires. State guidelines call for clearing dead vegetation and cutting grass low, which goats do naturally and constantly. They can work in extreme heat and easily navigate steep, hard-to-reach terrain, making them effective for wildfire prevention.
Of course the folks in the ASF is in favor of the City’s fire
mitigation efforts for the most part.
They also want mandatory actions to protect nesting bird species and other wildlife and habitat protections, a certified habitat/biology manager monitoring the goats at all times. The monitor must be independent and third-party to provide an objective review.
The biology monitor should implement a carefully designed written program that protects sensitive habitats and site conditions. Extensive fencing of the sensitive areas, carefully delineated, must be used to protect the native habitat and sensitive zones.
Erosion and damage to native plants must be logged daily.
Let me just point this out.
If an Eaton Fire level blaze sweeps through the Arroyo, there won’t be a bird’s nest, plant or blade of grass left.
The work has to be done to protect human lives and by extension, the animals and plants that make the Arroyo their home.
Of course this work can be transparent and within some guidelines. Still, it has to be done. Just as the sediment removal had to be done by the county.
And the City is doing just that.
The Pasadena Recreation and Parks Commission is scheduled to hear a department update Tuesday from the Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department covering April park maintenance projects and a goat grazing wildfire-resilience pilot at Central Arroyo Park.
The update is an information item, meaning no action is scheduled to be taken based on it. Recreation and Community Services Administrator Kenny James and Parks Administrator Mel Alonzo are scheduled to deliver the update.
So relax—no one is going to open the door and find their car in scraps and a goat grinning like Alfred E. Neuman bleating, “What, me worry?”
Look it up.
In all seriousness, Pasadena is not the only place to use goats instead of machines to help clear brush.
Post Eaton Fire, Arcadia used 400 goats and sheep to clear 21 acres of dense vegetation in the foothills above Arcadia. The animals grazed for 20 days along steep terrain beginning on July 15. According to media reports, they produced an interesting side effect.
Their hooves broke shattered crystallized soil caused by the fire, which helped reduce the risk of flooding.
Not bad.
The goat’s insatiable appetite paid off in Sacramento. According to the fire chief there, the goats helped save a housing complex. The goats had grazed the brush down to four inches in the area which allowed firefighters to get a jump on the flames.
Imagine if they had been released in the mountains above Altadena prefire. Maybe lives would have been saved and some of those homes would still be standing.
Easy trade off. Let the goats do their work.
Get our daily Pasadena newspaper in your email box. Free.
Get all the latest Pasadena news, more than 10 fresh stories daily, 7 days a week at 7 a.m.
