“Wooldozers” Reduce Fire Hazards
APOLITO ORESURRINAGA is a husky, good-looking shepherd tending sheep in the Chino Hills of Southern California. His occupation is a strange paradox as shepherds are not normally associated with the aerospace industry, nor does the peaceful scene of Apolito and his intelligent dogs caring for their flock among the hills, valleys and woods seem like the efficient safety and cost reduction operation of a large industrial corporation. But it is!
“These sheep are the most economical and efficient fire fighters we have,” stated A. A. Miller, manager, Administration and Technical Services Division of Aerojet-General Corporation’s Downey plant. “The hazard of small brush and grass fires was a frequent worry during the late spring and dry summer months,” he explained. “To reduce this problem, we hired bulldozers to cut firebreaks and we also conducted control burning in some areas at the Downey plant’s Chino Hills Ordnance Laboratory. However, when a fire broke out, the firebreak cut by the bulldozers would simply isolate it. But, now the sheep and wild deer have practically eliminated the hazard of fires by grazing on the dry grass and trampling down the weeds and bushes.”
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