Local News in Brief : Fire Report Leads to Open-Air PCP Lab
Authorities responding to a report of a fire Friday morning found an open-air PCP lab at a campground in the Angeles National Forest, Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials said.
Lt. Jeff Springs said a fire that was ringing the lab set up at the Live Oak Campground off Sand Canyon Road in Canyon Country was extinguished by county firefighters before it reached three barrels containing flamable chemicals.
The campground was deserted when deputies and firefighters were called to the scene after the fire was reported at 3 a.m. by a passer-by. There were no arrests.
The barrels contained liquid chemicals, including ether, that are used in the process of manufacturing the hallucinogenic drug PCP, Springs said. Cooking apparatus found at the scene may have started the fire, which burned a small area of brush at the center of the campground, he said. The chemicals were removed by a county hazardous materials squad.
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