Pot farms increase danger to firefighters

Firefighters battling blazes in California's pot-growing back country apparently must beware of armed marijuana gardeners in addition to the dangers of fire, smoke and the occasional rattlesnake.

Firefighters working near Lake Pillsbury last week were confronted by two armed men who angrily, in Spanish, made it clear they should leave the area, law and forestry officials said.

Two weeks ago, firefighters using heavy equipment to clear brush around a fire near Laytonville left after hearing gunshots they believed were directed at them, they said.

"It's another hazard (firefighters) face," said Mendocino County Sheriff's Capt. Kurt Smallcomb, whose office responded to both incidents.

In both cases, law enforcement officials reported finding dozens of marijuana plants growing nearby.

Firefighters have stumbled across pot gardens and their tenders before, but it's rare for federal firefighters to be threatened by men with guns while battling a fire in California, said Ron Pugh, regional law enforcement director with the U.S. Forest Service.

An increase in pot-related confrontations in public forests, however, has led to a doubling of federal forest police in the state to 152 this year, he said.

Hunters, hikers and forest officials increasingly have been threatened by armed pot gardeners, Pugh said. Private landowners with remote property also are plagued by trespassing pot growers.

Last week, a bulldozer operator working on Lake County Supervisor Rob Brown's Kelseyville ranch was confronted by an angry man, who screamed and yelled at him, said Lake County Sheriff's Lt. Dave Garzoli. The man was not believed to be armed at the time, but shotgun shells were later found at a nearby camp.

Deputies eradicated 5,000 marijuana plants from Brown's 300-acre ranch Monday, Garzoli said.

Last week's armed confrontation near Lake Pillsbury was the sixth time since lightning ignited hundreds of fires across California that firefighters suspended efforts on national forest lands until law enforcement could arrive and ensure their safety, Pugh said.

"I don't believe any of the fires spread" as a result of the delays, he said. "But the potential is there."

National forests are a favorite gardening spot for foreign nationals who grow pot on a large scale, Pugh said.

Last year, law officers seized 1.7 million pot plants at 346 sites in California's 18 national forests, he said.

In about 95 percent of those cases, firearms were also found, Pugh said.

During the Lake Pillsbury incident last week, two firefighters were scouting the area to decide where to send fire crews when they were confronted by two armed men, said Pam Bierce, a spokeswoman for crews fighting the Soda Complex fire in that area.

The men did not speak Eng-lish, but their angry tones and gestures made their message clear, she said.

Law enforcement officers found 47 marijuana plants in the area, Bierce said.

Near Laytonville, where heavy-equipment operators heard gunshots, deputies found a large garden with more than 25 plants, Smallcomb said.

In Tehama County, firefighters found 7,000 pot plants growing on Mendocino National Forest land, said spokeswoman Phebe Brown. The plants were eradicated, and law enforcement officers continue to patrol the area, she said.

Pugh said the situation is explosive.

"It's not a matter of if. It's a matter of when we have a very ugly situation occur, whether it's a firefighter, deer hunter or recreational hiker," he said.

You can reach Staff Writer Glenda Anderson at 462-6473 or glenda.anderson@pressdemocrat.com.