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Goat brush clearing & wildfire fuel reduction in Alpine

Alpine's rugged East County canyons channel Santa Ana winds straight into the wildland-urban interface. We put goats to work clearing the brush that fuels those fires.

West Fire, 2018 Very High Fire Hazard Zone Steep chaparral canyons Alpine Fire / CAL FIRE

Wildfire risk in Alpine

The 2018 West Fire destroyed 56 structures just south of Interstate 8 in Alpine, and the Viejas and Cedar fires threatened the area before it. Roughly half of the Alpine plan area sits on slopes steeper than 25%, and wind-aligned canyons like Horsethief and Sweetwater push fire fast through dense chaparral.

Why goats are the right tool for Alpine's terrain

Alpine's steep, brush-choked slopes and large rural lots are ideal goat country and terrible machine country. Our herds graze coastal sage scrub, chaparral, and oak-woodland understory on hillsides bordering the Cleveland National Forest, opening up defensible space where a mower or crew simply can't work safely.

  • No herbicides and no chemical runoff near your home, well, or garden
  • No sparks — goats can't ignite the dry brush they're clearing
  • Sure-footed on steep, rocky slopes that are unsafe for mowers and crews
  • They eat poison oak, blackberry, star thistle, and other invasives
  • No cut debris to chip, bag, burn, or haul to the dump
  • Quiet, no diesel fumes, no dust — and the neighbors love watching

Bringing a Alpine property into defensible-space compliance?

California's 100-foot defensible space law (PRC 4291) asks for a lean, reduced-fuel zone around every structure. Goats are the natural way to handle the large, sloped Zone 2 area. See how the rules work →

What we clear in Alpine

  • Defensible space & fuel reduction — meet the 100-ft rule (PRC 4291), especially the Zone 2 slopes
  • Brush & overgrowth clearing — overgrown lots, greenbelts, and neglected acreage
  • Poison oak & invasive weeds — the plants crews won't touch
  • Steep & hard-to-reach terrain — canyons, hillsides, and creek banks
  • Fire breaks & seasonal grazing — one-time knockdown or a recurring schedule

Popular in Alpine: poison oak removal, steep hillside clearing, weed-abatement notices, and defensible space.

Areas we serve near Alpine

We also graze Descanso, Pine Valley, Japatul Valley, Harbison Canyon, Jamul. Don't see your neighborhood? Ask for a free quote — Garcia Goats covers all of San Diego County.

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