Firefighters in West Sacramento, California, have a not-so-secret weapon in their arsenal: goats. Lots and lots of goats.

The city regularly uses hundreds of goats to clear out weeds, high grass, and other dry brush that could easily go up in flames. The goats happily gobble everything up, creating environmentally-friendly fire breaks. Paul Hosely, the public information officer for West Sacramento, told CBS 13 that goats have been helping prevent fires in town for the last 10 years. “About 400 goats can clear two acres a day and get in places mowers can’t reach,” he said.

It’s a program that’s good for the goats and good for the firefighters, and it works — CBS 13 reports that the goats recently cleared underbrush near a housing complex, and when a blaze started in the area, their fire breaks kept the flames from going near homes.