as a fire retardant schneider said describing the grazing as a powerful secret weapon in firefighting jenya schneider speaks with daniel fawcett wildland specialist for the carpinteriasummerland fire protection district about drought conditions in california abc news schneider and anderson began the initiative after searching for ways of being human on this earth that was not contributing to climate change schneider said natural fuel is made up of forest components including fallen leaves and bark ironically decades of fire suppression a fire management technique have contributed to the scope of fires occurring today according to experts we arent going to save the world by grazing a few sheep up on the hillsides but we can work with others and form coalitions and all of those threads when theyre woven together is going to make a real difference anderson said as researchers study the perfect balance between allowing natural fires to burn and also preventing them from threatening human life some believe sheep offer a better way to prevent flames from spreading so quickly once they ignite hundreds of sheep from cuyama lamb graze along the hillside in southern california the fire department directs the sheep to the areas it decides are in most need of fuel mitigation schneider said adding that the space the sheep clear can create a burn break that stops a wildfire in its tracks schneider said she hopes the sheep allows californians to have a healthy relationship with fires in the future macdonald described it as the smokey bear mentality the notion of preventing any fires from sparking that became popular in the west toward the end of the 19th century when successful the technique also helps firefighters get a handle on wildfires faster abc news wildfires are a natural occurrence in forest ecosystems but certain fire management practices have also contributed to the scope of fires occurring today according to experts