The City of Quesnel has been testing a unique way to help prevent wildfires by enlisting the help of 132 cashmere goats to graze on vegetation in the Fire Management Trails area for about a month, until mid-July, to see how livestock might help mitigate fire hazards. In 2021, the city opened the three-kilometre Fire Management Trails within the fuel management demonstration forest, adjacent to the Quesnel Airport, to educate residents about wildfire prevention. The 31-hectare forest was categorized as a high-risk wildfire area when Quesnel established its community wildfire protection plan in 2019. The plan aimed to reduce the threat of wildfires by selectively removing trees and grass while ensuring the long-term health of the forests. Erin Robinson, Quesnel’s forestry initiatives manager, said it’s the first time the city has involved the goats, which are from the Vahana Nature Rehabilitation in Kimberley, about 585 kilometres to the southeast.