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Los Feliz apartment fire reveals pot grow house
THC resin, commonly known as "hash oil," is often extracted utilizing butane, which is believed to be cause of the house fire in Los Feliz Friday, April 24, 2015.
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Photo by Andres Rodriguez via Flickr Creative Commons
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A house fire in L.A.'s upscale Los Feliz neighborhood revealed a marijuana-growing operation inside the home.
Several ammunition-like explosions were heard Friday night during the house fire on the 3900 block of Sunset Drive, where authorities say they found nearly 100 marijuana plants on the property, along with butane canisters.
Firefighters put out the blaze in about 20 minutes, according to The Associated Press.
L.A. City Fire Captain Daniel Curry told NBC 4 witnesses saw three men outside the apartment saying "It's gonna blow" before the explosion.
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Firefighters say there was damage to the adjacent garage and bedroom and that no one was hurt during the blaze.
Police were looking for those responsible Saturday morning.
KPCC's own Molly Peterson captured some of the blaze on video:
According to a 2014 report from NPR, the use of butane is being increasingly used to extract highly potent THC resin, commonly known as "hash oil," from marijuana plants. This method sometimes results in fires when butane fumes created when the pot trimmings are frozen for extraction ignite through a spark from something like a refrigerator compressor.
Video from NBC 4
This story has been updated.
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