OJAI : Deputies Burn 1,380 Marijuana Plants

In their first foray of the season into the remote canyons east of Ojai, Ventura County sheriff’s narcotics investigators confiscated and burned nearly 1,400 marijuana plants, officials said.

“This is probably a harbinger of things to come in the backcountry because of the amount of water we’ve had the past year,” Sheriff’s Lt. Craig Husband said.

A hiker discovered the illegal foliage late last week and notified the Sheriff’s Department, which first surveyed the plants and then removed them Monday, Husband said.

The cultivation was “very sophisticated because there were solar panels connected to batteries, connected to pumps, connected to hoses,” Husband said.

The 1,380 plants were found in three plots--consisting of several hundred plants each--adjacent to Los Padres National Forest, Husband said. Ranging from seedlings to about two feet high, the plants were watered by an elaborate system controlled by timers.

Husband said deputies may clear anywhere from 10 to 20 marijuana plantations during a season. He added that an investigation is continuing to identify possible suspects.