Crime & Safety
Cigarette Sparks Fire At East Bay Marijuana Grow House, Officials Say
Breaking: The fire Sunday at an abandoned Antioch home led officials to the discovery of a clandestine marijuana-growing operation.
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA -- A fire in a boarded-up Antioch home where marijuana was found growing Sunday started when someone discarded a cigarette into a planter box, Contra Costa County Fire Protection District officials said.
A neighbor called firefighters at 1:55 p.m. Sunday to report smoke coming from the front of a two-story, single-family home in the 2000 block of Bugle Way.
When crews arrived, they found fire on the outside of the home adjacent to the front door, Fire Marshal Robert Marshall said.
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The windows and doors were boarded up and when firefighters got inside, they found marijuana plants growing.
Fire crews had to force entry to every window and door to access the house. Common to #marijuana grow house operations. #BugleIC pic.twitter.com/pcnKrkVNYD
— Confire PIO (@ContraCostaFire) May 21, 2017
Firefighters left the home until PG&E turned off power because electrical systems in buildings where marijuana is growing illegally are typically dangerous, according to Marshall.
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The fire spread through the eaves into the attic above the garage and into the house, though damage to the house was minor, Marshall said.
The fire caused about $50,000 damage to the home. No one was injured.
Marshall said it's likely no one was living there and that police have started an investigation into the marijuana operation.
Antioch police were not immediately available to provide details of their investigation.
By Bay City News Service
Photo via Contra Costa County Fire Protection District/Twitter
