Today's Article

"3Like it or not, I have become an expert in all things California fire."

Kay lost his home in Sonoma from the Tubbs fire that year. Despite his personal efforts to save his neighborhood, it was no match for the 4inferno. So, when he moved to San Clemente a few years ago, he 5urged city leaders to take a citywide 6approach to 7fire prevention.

His suggestion? Goat 8grazing.

"It's environmentally sensitive. The cost is a 9fraction of what it would cost to do this with hand crews, and you're not spraying the chemicals. We don't have the controlled burns."

The problem was the city tried this about a decade ago but it was met with 10pushback from residents who didn't want 11shepherds sleeping near their homes or have their dogs barking all night at the grazing goats. So, the idea never came to 12fruition.

Then they saw the recent 13devastation in the LA fires.

"If this happens in San Clemente, we'd have a disaster."

San Clemente Mayor Steve Knoblock says 80% of the city is in a high fire danger zone.

Suddenly, Kay's goats sounded like a great idea.

"The second-largest budget item in our city is fire prevention. And with the money we spend on that, this is a major 14component of reducing the fire risk."

Last month, the city partnered with Kay to launch a pilot project where Kay would offer 20 of his goats to 15munch on dry brush and invasive species on 10 acres of city-owned property near Vista Hermosa Sports Park.

"You can see a clear difference in where the animals have been. This side of the electric fence, all the plants have been pretty much knocked down. On the other side, though, this mustard remains 6 feet tall."

And to address concerns of overnight grazing, Kay even spent $10,000 of his own money to build a coyote-16proof 17enclosure nearby.