25 Nov Sheep could hold the answer to tackling wildfires
The latest firefighting solution doesn’t involved expensive equipment, tools or technology. It seems that sheep could actually be a powerful weapon to manage wildfires – and it’s cost efficient and effective for fire fuel mitigation.
In California, Cuyama Lamb is an agriculture company with around 700 sheep grazing the land in Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties. The local fire department directs the sheep to the areas it decides could benefit from fuel mitigation. As the sheep graze, they create a ‘burn break’ that has the ability to stop a wildfire in its tracks.
Talking to ABC News, Jenya Schneider, Co-Founder, said: “Their job is one thing: eat.”
As a secondary bonus the waste the sheep leave behind them acts as a fire retardant, making sheep power even more promising.
The technique is far more cost efficient than using machinery plus the sheep are better able to navigate tough to pass areas. Using sheep can also help firefighters tackle blazes quicker. By reducing the vegetation available in an area there is less to burn and fires are not as intense. This means fire crews have better, safer access to get to the problem quickly.
Tackling wildfires is becoming more important than ever – recently Google rolled out its wildfire detection tool to help local communities stay safe.