The marijuana farm suspected of being the cause of the 90,000-acre La Brea fire in Santa Barbara County is reported to have at least 30,000 plants. "Also found were stacks of propane tanks, melted irrigation tubing, empty canisters of fertilizer, mounds of trash, a torched cooking stove and a semiautomatic rifle," reported the LA Times. "The growers diverted a nearby stream and planted the garden on the side of a mountain." 225,058 plants have already been found this year by officials in the county. More locally, marijuana plantations were found in the Santa Monica Mountains last month. more ›

Los Angeles has had some hazy and reddish smoke layer in some parts yesterday. That usually leads to brilliant sunsets, but they are a sign of nothing good. The two wildfires burning north in Santa Barbara and Shasta counties have grown to be "out of control," as characterized by the LA Times. Since last Saturday, the fire burning in the Los Padres Mountains 26 miles east of Santa Maria has burned some 40,000 acres prompting about 150 evacuations. Winds and inaccessible terrain has hampered firefighter efforts. Further up north north of Santa Cruz, a 2,800-acre blaze that began on Wednesday has pushed 2,000 from their hillside homes as officials mostly attack from the air. more ›