Landslide Blamed On Illegal Marijuana Grow In Santa Cruz Co.

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, CA — An illegal commercial cannabis operation may have contributed to a landslide in unincorporated Santa Cruz County, officials are reporting. Thursday, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office served a search warrant in the 200 block of Hill House Road in Boulder Creek and found 3,321 cannabis plants under cultivation within the residence, as well as nine non-permitted greenhouses, the county reported Monday.

Investigators and other county officials also discovered "evidence of a landslide adjacent to the commercial greenhouses, with ground saturated from water runoff from the cultivation operation," the county reported.

Electrical service was immediately cut off to the residence due to "fire danger from multiple overloaded circuits and substandard wiring," the county reported.

Three people were at the site when the warrant was served, and one person was arrested after failing to provide proper identity, the county continued.

The property owner faces civil fines, and the property was red-tagged by the county planning department due to numerous building violations.

The site will be further reviewed to establish the extent of the commercial cultivation operation's contribution to the landslide, according to the county.