Goats returned to the hillsides of Verdugo Park, happy to be part of Glendale’s wildfire mitigation strategy

Several goats returned to the hillsides of Verdugo Park in Glendale, happy to be part of the city’s year-round wildfire mitigation strategy. The goats, contracted through California Grazing Company, are spending a week chumping and eating 20 acres of dry brush. 

The goats will graze the area around the park, reducing potential fire fuel. Patty Mundo, fire environmental safety specialist for the Glendale Fire Department, said the goal is to get ahead of the fire season. She explained that goats “have an endless appetite and will quickly devour wildfire fuel such as tall weeds, bushes and low-hanging tree leaves, which makes them an ideal and environmentally friendly alternative to heavy equipment and herbicides.”

She added, “We have goat shepherds, two or three of them, and they will stay with the goats 24-7. The goats will not be left alone. Guard dogs protect the goats if other animals try to jump over the electrical fence surrounding the ‘project site’ — the area where the goats are grazing.”

Mundo said it will be grazed for about a week, because it’s a “very large area that is fully overgrown.” She noted that it has been about six months since the last time it was grazed. And as she noted, “Because of the heavy rains we had in late 2025 in Southern California the vegetation grew out of control.”