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September 5, 2013

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Marijuana could be behind forest inferno

Evacuation orders and advisories have been lifted for several Sierra Nevada communities once threatened by a raging wildfire in and around Yosemite National Park in the United States.

Officials are still investigating the cause of the blaze, which started 18 days ago in an isolated area of the Stanislaus National Forest and has burned nearly 958 square kilometers — the fourth biggest recorded wildfire in California.

With higher humidity and lower temperatures, the fire reached 80 percent containment, prompting the sheriff’s offices in Tuolumne and Mariposa counties to lift evacuation advisories for communities with several thousand structures in the fire’s path.

Officials said 111 structures, including 11 homes, have been destroyed. More than 4,300 firefighters are still battling the blaze.

One local fire chief speculated the fire might have ignited where marijuana was being grown illegally. Chief Todd McNeal of the Twain Harte Fire Department told a community group recently there was no lightning in the area, so the fire must have been caused by humans. “We don’t know the exact cause,” he said. “Highly suspect it might have been some sort of illicit grove, a marijuana-grow-type thing, but it doesn’t really matter at this point.”

Officials overseeing the fire suppression effort would not comment McNeal’s statement and would only say that the cause is still under investigation.

Marijuana growing in national parks and forests has tormented federal land managers for years. Growers hike into remote canyons with poisons and irrigation lines and set up camp for months. The poisons kill wildlife and seep into streams and creeks. Tons of garbage is left behind.

 


 

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