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LAKE COUNTY – With more visitors coming into the Mendocino National Forest during the summer months, forest officials are advising people to be on the lookout for illegal marijuana gardens and the people who guard them.
Nearly half a million illegal marijuana plants were seized on the Mendocino National Forest last year and the prime growing period is now underway, prompting national forest officials to advise the public to be especially vigilant when visiting the forest.
“We want the public to be aware that this is going on and know what to do if they encounter marijuana gardens on the forest,” said Forest Supervisor Tom Contreras.
Illegal marijuana growing is an increasing problem on public lands in California. National Forest System lands are becoming increasingly used for growing and harvesting illegal marijuana gardens and these operations can potentially present a safety hazard to forest visitors and employees.
Most of the marijuana gardens are in very remote locations. The national forest has vast and mostly uninhabited lands with many areas of rich, fertile soil and a climate that provides the necessary conditions for growing marijuana. Plants are put into the ground between May and June and harvested in late September through November.
“If a private citizen comes upon something suspicious, don’t enter the area; just leave and notify local law enforcement authorities immediately,” Dennis Cullen, Forest Service Law Enforcement Patrol Captain, advised. “Do not enter any garden area.”
In 2006 the MNF law enforcement team spent over 300 days eradicating 405,399 marijuana plants from 55 illegal marijuana sites on the Mendocino National Forest. More marijuana was taken by this team than any other group in the Forest Service in 2006.
In addition to the criminal nature of the marijuana gardens, there is substantial environmental degradation caused by the illegal growers. Herbicides and pesticides used to remove competing vegetation and gnawing rodents (which are a food source for the northern spotted owls), human waste and garbage, all end up in rivers after winter rains. Also, the irrigation systems dewater small streams needed by fish, and compacts the soil in the gardens, leading to erosion.
The typical marijuana garden has changed from the late 1980s and early 90s. During that time the typical operation had 100 to 1,000 plants. These days, operations are far larger, ranging in size from 1,000 to 30,000 plants, or more. The larger growing operations often have armed individuals tending the gardens, Cullen said.
“Most of the increase can be attributed to the proliferation of foreign Drug Trafficking Organizations,” Cullen said.
Forest Service law enforcement officers work with county sheriff’s departments and Campaign Against Marijuana Planting (CAMP) teams. Headed by the Department of Justice Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement, CAMP teams were created in 1983 for the primary purpose of eradicating illegal marijuana from public lands in California.
Growers can live in the forest near these sites for months at a time. Officers have come across camps with exercise facilities, tree houses, barbed wire fences and numerous firearms, Cullen said.
These camps often contain cooking and sleeping areas which are within view of the cultivation site. Some camps have tents, hammocks and sleeping bags on the ground and have been found with large overhanging tarps as cover for the entire campsite.
There are some things to watch for which may indicate marijuana is being grown in an area. They can include:
Isolated tents in the forest where no recreational activity is present.
The utilization of trailers with no evidence of recreational activities.
A pattern of vehicular traffic or a particular vehicle seen in the same isolated area on a regular basis.
Unusual structures located in remote forested areas, with buckets, garden tools, fertilizer bags, etc.
Signs of cultivation or soil disturbance in unlikely areas.
Black piping and trash scattered in forested areas.
For additional information or to notify law enforcement authorities of a suspected garden area in the Mendocino National Forest, persons can contact Forest Service Law Enforcement at (530) 934-3316.
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First, it is in the process of being expanded to accommodate a larger crowd. Additionally the ninth fairway is being used for a leech field for the new and upgraded restrooms.
“It’s a refreshing change,” said longtime patron Mary Miles Ryan. “The restaurant did need a face lift; it will be a much more enjoyable place to visit in the future.”
Since the Gilberts bought the troubled club in January 2006, they have been attempting to make the facility a profitable business and have succeeded to some degree. The food and service at the restaurant have greatly improved and the pool has been upgraded at a considerable expense so it can be open on a regular bases.
The biggest expense in operating the facility is the maintenance of the golf course. The cost of keeping the greens watered is a major drain on the operating budget so there are plans to shorten up some of the fairways and planting grapes and olive trees on part of the area.
“I wouldn’t mind grapes because they have a low profile,” said Kathleen Quick, who lives on Sunset Ridge on the second fairway. “But if they were to plant olive trees where they will block our view, I would be very upset. We bought the home for the view and because it was on the golf course. Blocking our view would definitely affect our property value.”
In checking with the county there have been permits pulled to plant grapes but not olive trees at this time.
“They do own their land and have a right to make it viable,” said Alan Siegel, president of Clear Lake Riviera Home Owners Association. “We need to look at if they plan on spraying pesticides of any kind at any time.”
“One thing for sure, change is in the air,” said Ryan. “Let's hope that it’s change for the better.”
Visit Ray Perry's Web site at www.rayperry.com.
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KELSEYVILLE – The quick action of three men is being credited with saving additional homes from a fire that destroyed a mobile home Thursday afternoon.
The Walnut Estates Senior Mobile Park on Fifth Street in Kelseyville was the scene of the fire.
Dorothy Pinson, the park's manager, said the fire broke out about 4:30 p.m. Thursday in the home of Norman Wykes, who lived next door to Pinson in space 26.
Wykes was at a neighbor's home when the fire started, said neighbor Lynne Quartarolo.
Pinson said Wykes lost everything but “the clothes on his back,” with the fire killing his two cats as well.
Both Pinson and Quartarolo lauded the neighbors Jon Hanley, Conrad Boehm and Robert Potter for jumping into action and keeping the fire from spreading before Kelseyville Fire arrived.
Hanley, said Pinson, ran out barefoot, grabbed a hose and began watering down the home on the other side of Wykes' mobile, where the wind was starting to blow the fire.
“It was pretty hot,” said Pinson.
So hot, that it cracked the neighboring home's double-pained windows, said Pinson, who added that Hanley's actions helped prevent the mobile from catching fire.
Boehm stood in Pinson's yard with a hose, putting water on Wykes' burning mobile.
“These guys, in my estimation are real heroes,” said Quartarolo.
Kelseyville Fire came on scene and contained the fire. Medical personnel took Hanley to the hospital, where his feet were treated, said Pinson. Other than blistered feet, he's OK.
The Red Cross gave Wykes three nights of lodging at the Skylark Shores Resort in Lakeport, along with vouchers for food at Grocery Outlet and clothes at Kmart. Pinson added that one park resident also is offering Wykes a place to stay.
On Monday, Pinson said she's supposed to pick up a report on the fire's cause. She said authorities indicated there was a 99-percent chance it was accidental, with Wykes believing it may have been caused by a fan he was using.
Pinson said the park had a fire about seven years ago in which a man died. The cause of that fire was believed to be a cigarette, she said.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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LAKEPORT – A Wednesday evening assault that police are calling gang-related left a 14-year-old male seriously injured and another 16-year-old male in jail.
Lt. Brad Rasmussen of the Lakeport Police Department said Thursday that officers were dispatched to the area of 11th and Pool Street at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday on the call of an injured male subject.
At the scene, officers found a 14-year-old male – whose name authorities did not release because he is a minor – with a serious head injury, said Rasmussen. Lakeport Fire Department medical units responded and transported the victim to Sutter Lakeside Hospital for treatment.
Investigators established that five to six male subjects – among them a 16-year-old male who is a documented Nortenos street gang member – approached the victim while he was walking down 11th with his brother and some others, said Rasmussen.
The victim and his brother were both wearing blue pants and hats, a color associated with the rival Surenos gang, said Rasmussen.
The group of males, said Rasmussen, suspected the 14-year-old was a gang member and attacked him, hitting him over the head with a large rock.
Lakeport Police went to the residence of the 16-year-old gang member, who Rasmussen said is well known to local law enforcement. “The suspect has an extensive history of gang-related activity in both Sonoma and Lake County,” he added.
Because the teen is currently on probation, officers were able to conduct a search of his home. They arrested him for assault with a deadly weapon, resisting/delaying and obstructing a peace officer, criminal street gang enhancements and violation of probation.
The victim said he didn't know his attackers, Rasmussen reported. The teen isn't a gang member and hadn't had previous contacts with police.
The boy's brother, who police also hadn't had contact with, did admit to being associated with the Angelino Heights gang, a subset of the Surenos, said Rasmussen.
The investigation is continuing, said Rasmussen. “We've got some leads on some other suspects and they are known to us.”
He added, if police can put together a case on anyone else, they will make additional arrests.
Lakeport Police submitted a report on the 16-year-old arrested in the attack to the Juvenile Probation Department Thursday morning, said Rasmussen. That department will then review the case and decide whether to send it to the District Attorney's Office.
“I would suspect that this will be sent to the DA,” said Rasmussen.
Anyone with information regarding the Lakeport assault is asked to contact Officers Jarvis Leishman or Destry Henderson at 263-5491.
Gang assaults look similar
Wednesday's gang-related assault looks strikingly similar to a March assault that took place in Library Park, in front of TNT on the Lake restaurant, said Rasmussen.
In that March 16 incident, 19-year-old Alex Larranaga of Clearlake Oaks was allegedly attacked and stabbed outside of the restaurant by five Lakeport teens, among them known Surenos gang members. Larranaga survived the assault.
Both assaults involved multiple subjects attacking one victim, said Rasmussen.
“The only difference here,” Rasmussen said of Wednesday's assault, “is that they used a rock instead of a knife.”
Police don't believe the similarities translate into the two attacks being related, Rasmussen said.
The Nortenos and Surenos are the two leading gangs in the Lakeport area, said Rasmussen, and are most responsible for gang-related problems.
He added that there are more Surenos than Nortenos around Lakeport.
Rasmussen said that although there have been more gang-related incidents in recent months, police don't believe there are actually more gang members, but that current gang members are becoming more brazen.
“It just shows that they don't have any fear of carrying out their assaults on people, because they'll do it right on a public street or in front of a restaurant,” said Rasmussen.
In the Larranaga case, four of the five suspects – including two teenagers who will stand trial as adults – are due in court for their preliminary hearings later this month, according to Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff.
Ricardo Tapia Muniz, 18; Elias Hernandez, 19; Mathew Domeier, 16; and Juan Yepez, 17, all will be in Superior Court's Department 2 on July 24 to face charges of attempted murder with gang enhancements and aggravated mayhem, which is a lesser charge related to attempted murder, said Hinchcliff. Hernandez and Yepez also face conspiracy charges.
A fifth suspect, a 14-year-old male, faces conspiracy and attempted murder charges with the gang enhancement as well, but isn't being tried as an adult, officials previously reported.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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