WAMM pot gardent threatened by Lockheed blaze

[uppityperson]

BIG wildfire burning near Bonny Doon near Santa Cruz.

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/localnews/ci_13127746

...Between the raining ash and lack of sleep, Valerie Corral struggled to keep her eyes open Saturday afternoon, as she watched flames continue to burn on her Swanton Road property. "I haven't slept since Thursday," Corral said. All the food in her home is depleted, but even if she had any there would be no way to cook it because all of the propane tanks have been removed from her property. She and her husband, Mike, cooked their breakfast on a dual-sided hot plate.

Priorities such as eating and sleeping have been shifted drastically. Instead the Corrals are staking out to protect their 106-acre property, including a nearly mature pot garden planted earlier this year to benefit members of the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana. "One hundred percent of this garden goes to our 150 members," Corral said. "If this were to go, it would affect them all."

Five fire crews came in Friday to help battle flames alongside Valerie and Mike Corral, founders of the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana. By that point, the blaze already rushed down the upper portion of their property in the mountains, destroying about half of it. Nearly three-fourths of their property, mostly trees and a small cabin, was lost in the fire by Saturday afternoon. Two homes, one for the volunteers and one for the Corrals, and the pot garden, with plants up to 4 feet tall, were left standing.

Since Friday afternoon, fire crews have been of assistance, with helicopters constantly emerging from the smoky air, dropping water overhead around Valerie's home, a few hundred feet away from the garden. Fire crews acknowledged the legal status of the garden and said their objective was not to protect the garden but to protect the structures and put out the burning mountainside....(more)

[tabatha]

1. This is somewhat ironic:

A week-long investigation by U.S. Forest Service Special Agents, Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Narcotics Unit and Fire Investigators has revealed the cause of the La Brea Fire. Investigators revealed that the La Brea Fire was started by a cooking fire in a marijuana drug trafficking operation.

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Narcotics Unit has confirmed that the camp at the origin of the fire was an illegal marijuana operation believed to be run by a Mexican National Drug Organization. The Narcotics Unit has been working in the area within the last month eradicating other nearby marijuana cultivation sites.

Although the La Brea Fire started more than one week ago, there is evidence that the unburned marijuana garden area has been occupied within the last several days. The Narcotics Unit has secured the camp area which was located in remote and rugged terrain. It is also believed that the suspects are still within the San Rafael Wilderness trying to leave the area on foot. Officials warn not to approach anyone who looks suspicious but to instead contact the nearest law enforcement agency.

http://www.inciweb.org/incident/announcements/article/1803/9150/