A southern California fire department has an all-natural solution to fighting wildfires: goats. More than 450 of them, to be exact.

Weather in your inbox

Forecast Location

Sign Up

By signing up you agree to the Terms & Privacy Policy. Unsubscribe at any time.

Wednesday the Ventura County Fire Department let hundreds of goats loose on the Simi Valley hillside in the hopes that the animals will devour acres of dry brush, which could potentially fuel wildfires, according to ABC News.

“We still have this dead, decadent brush as a result of the years of drought,” said Ventura County Fire Chief Mark Lorenzen at a news conference. Officials emphasized that even on a cool day, the dry brush could still burn easily. 

May kicks off California's dry season. Only 0.85 inches of rain falls in the five-month period from May through September, said weather.com senior meteorologist Jon Erdman. Nearby Ojai, California, has picked up just over 10 inches of rain since Jan. 1. However, that's only roughly two-thirds of the average during that time.

The animals, which are part of a program run by various fire departments in the area, were set free at the Ronal Reagan Presidential Library, WKOW reports. 

(WATCH: Adorable Baby Goats Play in Pajamas)

"They pretty much eat around our entire property,” Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation chief marketing officer Melissa Giller told NBC. “They are within a fenced area, once that area is ‘clean’ the fence is moved to the next part of the property.”

“The goats are great, a wonderful attraction piece for the library, too. It’s also a reminder that we are talking about wildfire season starting early," Ventura County Fire Department spokesperson Heather Sumagaysay told NBC San Diego. "A couple weeks ago, we had a 50-acre brush fire. We have had recent rain, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have a high-risk fire season.” 

The goats will be released for the next four to six weeks in the hopes that they get rid of danger spots by munching the grass down to the dirt, ABC reports. 

MORE ON WEATHER.COM: Animal Jobs - Goats