GRAHAM, Wash. – As Washington faces a spring with severely low snowpack, fire districts across the state are ramping up preparations for Wildfire Awareness Month. At Central Pierce Fire and Rescue, some of the most effective team members are focusing on prevention, through meal time. 

Station 96, now affectionately nicknamed “The Goat House,” deployed a herd of goats to serve as official “fuel mitigation specialists.” These four-legged lawnmowers are tasked with clearing thick vegetation and maintaining the retention pond area around the station to ensure dry brush doesn’t become fuel for a potential fire.

The ‘G.O.A.T.’ of mitigation

While they may not look like your typical firefighters—and they certainly lack a sense of professional decorum—officials say the herd is setting a regional standard for wildfire prevention.

“They are the GOAT of […] fuel mitigation,” joked Wildfire Coordinator Jake Weigley.

The strategy is as practical as it is adorable. By having the goats graze the land, the department avoids spending crew downtime on weed whackers. This keeps firefighters ready for what they do best: responding to emergencies.

“It does save the taxpayers money, because our crews are able to focus on training and responding to calls,” Weigley said.

The “GoatFundMe’ account

Despite their official titles, these specialists aren’t on the public payroll. Their snacks, veterinary care, and general upkeep are funded internally through a “GoatFundMe” account, which is supported entirely by voluntary contributions from fire department and county employees.

The department hopes these stubborn workers will inspire residents to take notes on their own “defensible space” at home. Much like the goats clearing the field, fire officials recommend homeowners hardscape and remove any fuels that could carry a fire toward buildings.

A heightened season of awareness

The timing is critical. Following a winter with low precipitation, officials are on high alert for the upcoming fire season, though the full severity remains a question mark until the summer heat truly hits.

“We’re in a heightened level of awareness based on our snowpack and precipitation over the winter,” Weigley said. “But until fire season really gets started, we won’t know how severe it will be.”

Residents interested in meeting the herd can monitor the Central Pierce Fire and Rescue Facebook page for upcoming station events and community open houses. They ask to protect the goat’s health, you do not feed them.

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Bryan Woo was the best pitcher the Seattle Mariners had in 2025 as they made their run to the playoffs.

He looked like that guy again on Wednesday afternoon.

Seattle Mariners 3, Atlanta Braves 1: Recap | Box score | Standings

Woo shook off a pair of recent shaky outings to go six scoreless, one-hit innings to lead the Mariners to a 3-1 win that clinched a series victory over the MLB-leading Atlanta Braves.

The 26-year-old right-hander worked around a pair of walks while tying his season-high with nine strikeouts.

Woo had a 2.25 ERA through his first five starts of the season, but he ran into trouble on Seattle’s last road trip, allowing seven runs on nine hits including four home runs at St. Louis on April 25. He struggled again last Friday, giving up four runs in the first inning and six runs total over six frames in a loss at home to Kansas City.

Those two outings pushed Woo’s ERA up to 4.61, but he lowered it to 4.02 on the year with his start Wednesday.

What Rowland-Smith sees in Woo’s recent struggles

With Woo dominant on the mound, the Mariners’ offense didn’t need to do too much to build a lead against the Braves. Seattle went up 1-0 when designated hitter Cal Raleigh came up with no outs and hit into a bases-loaded double play in the third inning, scoring catcher Jhonny Pereda.

Julio Rodríguez contributed with a little more volume in the sixth inning, blasting a 436-foot solo home run to center off of Braves starter Martín Pérez to put the M’s up 2-0. And after the Braves scored one in the eighth, team RBI leader Cole Young added some insurance by bringing home Josh Naylor home with his second double of the game.

The Mariners came back to beat Atlanta 5-4 on Monday, then had to bounce back Wednesday after falling 3-2 Tuesday night following Braves slugger Matt Olson’s go-ahead homer off of closer Andrés Muñoz in the ninth inning.

Seattle improved to 18-20 with the win, while the Braves dropped to 26-12. It was the first series loss of 2026 for Atlanta.

Houston Astros lose star Carlos Correa for season

The M’s are off Thursday, then begin a seven-game road trip at 4:40 p.m. Friday against the White Sox in Chicago. Mariners Radio Network coverage on Seattle Sports of that series opener will begin at 3:30 with the pregame show.

More on the Seattle Mariners

• Top prospect Colt Emerson snaps slump with HR, three-hit game
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• Mariners place Gabe Speier on IL, add two lefty relievers
• Mariners showing some concerning signs on defense
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Seattle’s socialist Mayor Katie Wilson is facing fierce blowback on social media after a 77-year-old man was seen on video being beaten by two individuals in a crime that was captured by closed-circuit television cameras, a tool that Wilson has denounced in the past as something that makes the community feel unsafe and “vulnerable.”

The elderly man was walking down the street in downtown Seattle last month when two men walking by him stopped, without any provocation, shoved him to the ground and beat him, KOMO News reported.

Ahmed Abdullahi Osman, 29, was later arrested and charged with second-degree assault, and police are looking for the second suspect. Osman was reportedly booked into jail the night of the assault and then released back onto the streets before a bail hearing.

“Turning on more cameras won’t magically make our neighborhoods safer, but it will certainly make our neighborhoods more vulnerable,” Wilson said in 2025 after Seattle City Council’s approval of expanding the Real Time Crime Center (RTCC) CCTV pilot program, the program used to capture the video of this specific crime, according to KOMO News.

Conservatives on social media quickly pointed to Wilson’s policies, which have been much maligned as “soft on crime,” as a contributing factor, as well as her previous comments on CCTV.

“They elected a SOCIALIST,” Heritage Foundation senior fellow Mike Gonzalez posted on X. “What did they think would happen?”

“Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson remains clueless on the job,” journalist Jonathan Choe posted on X. “So she’s allowing far-left activists to make public safety decisions for the city.”

“Go ahead and explain the ‘sOCiONoMic rOoT cAusES’ of this heinous crime,” Manhattan Institute fellow Rafael A. Mangual posted on X.

“Ahmed Abdullah Osman beat a 77-year-old in Seattle,” conservative influencer account End Wokeness posted on X in a clip that has been viewed over a million times. “Police ID’d him thanks to street video cameras. Mayor Wilson: ‘CCTV puts refugees at risk.’”

Wilson has amplified concerns from local activist groups that CCTV cameras will pose a threat to illegal immigrant communities.

“We are deeply concerned that the expansion of these tools will create an infrastructure where federal agencies can more readily target vulnerable communities, including immigrants and refugees,” the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, the Council on American-Islamic Relations of Washington and the Church Council of Greater Seattle said in a letter last year.

The victim in the incident spent a week in a hospital after suffering a broken arm, knee and facial injuries, KOMO News reported.

Wilson’s office directed Fox News Digital to a March press release in which she outlined her position on the cameras, saying she is leaving the current cameras on but “pausing expansion of the pilot” program until “we have completed a privacy and data governance audit, and taken significant steps to strengthen our policies.”

Wilson acknowledged there’s “no doubt that these cameras make it easier to solve some crimes” that include “serious ones like homicides, but also, cameras are not the one key to making our neighborhoods safe.”

“I want to acknowledge that this is a controversial issue,” Wilson added. “For some people, seeing CCTV cameras in the neighborhood where they live or work or attend school makes them feel safer. For others, those same cameras make them feel less safe.”

“Those feelings are important, because our quality of life is partly about our feelings of safety or lack thereof, and our sense that our city is a welcoming place that is designed with consideration for our well-being and our humanity.”

Wilson continued, “But precisely because different people and different communities experience the cameras differently, it’s important to base a decision on more than feelings. It’s important to ground our actions in a thorough understanding of how the cameras are being used, of the public benefits they are providing, and of any harm they are causing or could cause.”

In a Tuesday press release, the Redmond, Washington Police Department announced the second suspect, Jes’Sean Tyrell Elion, was arrested with the help of Seattle police officers.

However, Osman is on the run and “currently wanted on a $200,000 warrant” and “officers are actively searching for him,” the press release said.

Last month, Fox News Digital reported on city advocates who say they are struggling to find solutions as homelessness and open-air drug use spread across Seattle’s streets, amid growing concerns about the direction of Wilson’s new administration.

“You can just see the foil is like blowing down the sidewalks like autumn leaves,” Andrea Suarez, founder and executive director of We Heart Seattle, told Fox News Digital in an interview.

“Very common to see property damage of our parks and shared spaces. You can see Narcan is used to reverse an overdose, so you’ll see cartridges. But at least we’re remodeling the bathroom to be gender-neutral. I’m not [kidding] you, that’s where our priorities are.”