San Diego Gas & Electric’s goats cross into a new corridor where they’ll continue their efforts to reduce vegetation and limit fire hazards. (Photo by Gabrielle Wallace/Times of San Diego) 
Before the goats moved to their new corridor, they enjoyed pets and feedings from neighborhood kids. (Photo by Gabrielle Wallace/Times of San Diego) 
Goats for San Diego Gas & Electric run uphill toward their new grazing area where they’ll mitigate potential fire fuel. (Photo by Gabrielle Wallace/Times of San Diego) 
San Diego Gas & Electric’s goats graze in a new corridor in Clairemont Mesa, helping reduce vegetation and fire fuel. (Photo by Gabrielle Wallace/Times of San Diego) 
A goat, part of San Diego Gas & Electric’s program that mitigates fire fuel, grazes in a transmission corridor in Clairemont Mesa. (Photo by Gabrielle Wallace/Times of San Diego)
San Diego Gas & Electric’s famous firefighting goats that reduce vegetation that might otherwise become fuel for wildfires have moved into a new grazing corridor.
Approximately 300 goats for SDG&E now spend their days grazing under the power lines in Clairemont Mesa. As the goats snack on vegetation, they reduce potential wildfire fuel and therefore the potential for utility-related fires.
As the goats moved from one corridor to the next on Tuesday morning, community members joined in on the fun, petting, feeding, and cheering the goats on as they trekked across the street to their new home for the next few weeks.
But the feeding and petting from the community is a special treat for the goats. According to Roland Franklin, the communications manager for SDG&E, the communities near the goats usually have few complaints about the four-legged friends, but instead are eager to visit, play with, and feed them — but that is generally discouraged.
“We get a lot of community interest where folks want to come out and pet the goats and engage with them, but they’re working, you know, so don’t disturb the work,” Franklin said.
The program first started in 2021, and it has grown each year. The 300 goats grazing in Clairemont Mesa are just some of the SDG&E goats deployed around San Diego. There are more than 2,000 goats working throughout the city, according to SDG&E.
The goats spent just under two weeks in their previous transmission corridor, which are stretches of land through which power lines run. The goats are expected to spend another two to three weeks in their Clairemont Mesa corridor before moving on to their next grazing patch.
There isn’t a designated or set amount of time for the goats to graze in each corridor. Franklin said the time the goats spend in each corridor is dependent on the amount of vegetation at the start and the size of the corridor. Sometimes it might only be a week, other times, it might be closer to three.
SDG&E checks on the goats’ progress, and if the goats need more time, then they can stay for longer in that corridor, and vice versa. Depending on seasonal changes and weather, the goats may return to the same corridor several times in a year. If a big rain sweeps in and the vegetation regrows, the goats can be sent back in to trim it all down, like natural lawnmowers.
The goats help create fire breaks around electric infrastructure, lowering the risk of utility-related wildfires. Fire breaks are strips of land with reduced or no vegetation that delay, or sometimes altogether halt, a wildfire. The goats offer an environmentally conscious solution that limits carbon emissions and disturbs the soil less than mechanical or chemical techniques.
“What’s really amazing about these goats is, on top of them being absolutely adorable, this is a natural brush management team,” said Candace Hadley, the San Diego Fire-Rescue media manager. “Not only do they clear the vegetation, but they also eat the seeds, so that brush doesn’t grow back.”
When mechanical methods, such as pruning, are used to clear brush, the seeds are often left behind. Herbicides, or chemical agents, can also be deployed to fight invasive species and their seeds. However, those can run into nearby bodies of water and contribute to reduced growth and reproduction of nearby flora and fauna, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
The goats’ digestion of the seeds also helps reduce vegetation regrowth, and decreases the amount of subsequent grazing.
The goats are only deployed in corridors with invasive species. According to SDG&E, the goats selectively target invasive and fire-prone plants.
Another plus side of is the community attention and engagement they bring. SDG&E recently launched an Instagram account (@thegoatsdge), where the company can share both cute videos of the goats and fire prevention information. Franklin said the Instagram page is a way to “catch the cuteness” while weaving in fire safety tips.
“Yes, they’re adorable, but there’s important work that happens with these goats,” he said.
