500-animal herd is clearing 70 acres of brush to establish crucial defensible space.
Hundreds of goats and sheep have been deployed to the rugged hillsides of Malibu’s Big Rock neighborhood as part of a coordinated regional effort to mitigate catastrophic wildfire risks.
The specialized herd of 400 goats and 100 sheep arrived May 21 under the direction of the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA). Tasked with consuming roughly 70 acres of invasive vegetation, the animals are grazing through parklands situated between Big Rock Drive and Tuna Canyon to establish critical defensible space around vulnerable residential communities. The herd transitioned to Malibu after completing similar vegetation management assignments in nearby Calabasas.
Public safety and environmental officials favor targeted grazing as a highly effective, ecologically sustainable alternative to mechanical brush clearance. The animals naturally navigate steep, densely overgrown terrain that is largely inaccessible to human hand-crews or heavy machinery. Additionally, the grazing process controls invasive plant populations, improves local soil composition, and enhances terrain drainage.
The deployment represents a key component of a broader wildfire prevention alliance formalized in fall 2025. The partnership unites the MRCA, the Los Angeles County Fire Department, and the Ventura County Fire Department to execute large-scale fuel-reduction initiatives across the Santa Monica Mountains.
Malibu municipal leaders praised the multi-agency collaboration, citing it as an essential strategy for safeguarding the highly fire-prone coastal corridor.
Beyond targeted grazing, the comprehensive regional fire mitigation strategy utilizes several specialized techniques to clear hazardous fuel loads, including mechanical mastication, employing heavy, tractor-like “masticator” machinery to shred roadside brush and dense tree growth.
Prescribed Pile Burns: Conducting highly monitored, controlled burns of previously gathered and stacked brush piles. Infrastructure Maintenance: Executing structural repairs on critical fire roads to ensure emergency vehicle access; and manual clearance: utilizing traditional hand tools for precise brush removal around specific structures.
The ongoing regional initiative is backed by a $3.2 million grant in early-action Proposition 4 fire prevention funds, allocated to the participating fire departments by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy.
The current phase of the program commenced on January 2, 2026. Since the winter restart, specialized crews and livestock herds have successfully cleared extensive tracts of hazardous vegetation across multiple high-risk municipalities, including Agoura Hills, Calabasas, and unincorporated segments of the Santa Monica Mountains.
