WHEN THE LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, FIRE DEPARTMENT RESPONDED to an industrial section of the downtown area Thursday morning, they found smoke and fire coming from the roof of one of the smaller occupancies. It was not unusual to be faced with a forcible entry challenge because that is typical in that type of business.
But once they were inside it was not at all typical of what they’re used to seeing. The 75-ft. by 100-ft. warehouse space was filled with a professional marijuana farm complete with grow-lights and irrigation equipment. The fire was knocked down easily and they had it out within 45 minutes. But the rest of the day was spent hitting the hot spots and covering for the police investigators who removed over 1,000 pot plants that had an estimated street value of $1 million.
The plants were grown in an elaborate hydroponic setup and fire investigators were trying to determine whether electrical equipment used in the operation may have started the fire. “They had lights and an air conditioning system for the plants and a whole water circulation system,” Los Angeles Fire Capt. Henry Amaran told reporters.
KTTV Ch. 5 had their cameras down there and produced this video report:
