An annual wildfire safety fair was held in Rancho Bernardo on Saturday by San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E). The event had dozens of information booths for residents to learn about fire prevention efforts along with scavenger hunt activities, food, drinks and, a crowd-favorite, brush-eating goats.
“I came because I know fire prevention is a big one for California,” Janet Frey said. “It was one of the reasons I was leary of coming to California.”
Frey had been living in New York until she moved to the Rancho Bernardo area two years ago to be close to her grandchildren. She explained that she has since become mindful of doing what she can to prevent fire from starting or spreading and she tries to get others to do the same.
“Sometimes people don’t pay attention to how high their trees area, their brush that’s on the ground, we all have to take part in being involved in this,” she said.
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Frey went table-to-table learning and collecting items, something that Cal Fire San Diego Fire Captain Brent Pascua was happy to see.
“These events are important to bring a sense of community,” Pascua said. “We’re all in this together.”
He shared that this year, like last year, rain brought a lot of new growth to the region, but once that dries up it could be cause for concern.
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“If we keep continuing on this hot trend, we’re going to have a lot of fuel on our hands that is dry and ready to burn, so we have to be very careful with that,” he said.
One of the ways that fire agencies clear brush from problem-areas is by using goats.
“They do an amazing job. They don’t need vacation days, no sick days,” Pascua joked about the very productive four-legged workers. “They love to eat and clear brush.”
Young kids flocked by the dozens to see a pen of brush-clearing goats at Saturday’s event. People had the opportunity to feed them or hold some of the smaller ones.
SDG&E plans to host two more events like this one before the end of the season. The next one is on July 13 at Joan MacQueen Middle School in Alpine, followed by the final fair of the year on Aug. 24 at Bates Nut Farm in Valley Center. The event begins runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
More information is available here.
