Goats just part of event’s education on reducing wildfire
PARADISE — Goats were the honored guests, but wildfire safety and preparedness were the themes Saturday, at the second annual Paradise Grazing Festival.
The event held at the Terry Ashe Recreation Center, 6626 Skyway, blended elements of a street fair, an educational session, musical performances and an enclosure where a few dozen goats basked in the attention of admiring people. Folks who attended seemed to be enjoying the event despite the unrelenting and chilly winds blowing over the ridge.
“This is an opportunity for families to learn about grazing as a tool for wildfire safety,” explained Calli-Jane West, executive director of the Butte County Fire Safe Council. “Wildfire is a part of life for those of us living in a foothills community. We need to be ready for it.”
Goats are fantastic firefighters, attendees learned. They’re capable of clearing flammable vegetation to create a more fire-safe landscape, and they can get into difficult-to-reach areas — such as steep hillsides — to eliminate organic growth where humans might not otherwise be able to gain access.
Besides booths representing local merchants and nonprofit groups, there was live music, as well as a dog-herding demonstration and a goat-vs.-human watermelon-eating contest.
Cameron Meyer attended the “Goat Story Time” session with his mother, Amy Meyer.
Cameron, 2, cuddled up with 1½-month-old goat Sassy while another goat, B.G., found a hay bale barricade too much to resist and munched on it.
“We mainly came to see the goats,” his mother explained. “He loves animals and was excited to come to see the goats.”
Goats have a solid track record at reducing non-native vegetation in the area. City of Chico officials have used the animals — contracting with a local goatherd — in removing overgrowth in Bidwell Park, for example, without the use of chemicals or herbicides.