La Brea Fire
| La Brea Fire | |
|---|---|
 Plume from the La Brea Fire on August 15 | |
| Location | Santa Barbara, California |
| Statistics | |
| Date(s) | August 8, 2009 - August 22, 2009[1] |
| Burned area | 89,489 acres (362 km2) |
| Cause | A cooking fire at a marijuana drug trafficking operation.[2] |
| Buildings destroyed | 2 |
The La Brea Fire began near La Brea Creek in Santa Barbara County, inside of Los Padres National Forest.[3] The fire burned 89,489 acres (140 sq mi; 362 km2) of chaparral between August 8 and August 22, but only destroyed two structures—a cabin and an unused ranger station.[2] The huge Zaca Fire burned in the same region in 2007, and some of the same fire lines were used to contain the La Brea Fire.[4] A propane stove at an illegal marijuana plantation inside the National Forest is believed to have ignited the fire. The plantation held approximately 30,000 marijuana plants, worth an estimated US$90 million. Prior to the blaze, seventeen other plantations hidden in the forest had been discovered by authorities, who destroyed more than 225,000 plants worth over US$675 million. No suspects were captured at the site, but investigators did find an AK-47 assault rifle, and warned the public that the suspects could be armed and dangerous.[5]
References
- ↑ "La Brea Fire". CAL FIRE. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
- 1 2 "La Brea Fire". InciWeb. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
- ↑ Womack, Sam. (August 17, 2009). "Crews work into the night to corral wildfire". Santa Maria Times. Retrieved September 3, 2009.
- ↑ "La Brea Fire Contained". Santa Barbara Independent. August 23, 2009. Retrieved September 3, 2009.
- ↑ "La Brea Fire believed to be caused by $90 million marijuana operation run by Mexican drug cartel". KSBY-TV (NBC Channel 6). August 19, 2009. Retrieved September 3, 2009.
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