The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office raided a Montecito home on Dec. 13 in the Thomas Fire mandatory evacuation zone after fire crews noticed signs of a marijuana “butane honey oil” extraction lab.
After obtaining a search warrant, deputies seized more than 300 to 500 pounds of cut marijuana, numerous cans of unopened butane fuel, 15 to 20 pounds of concentrated cannabis (hashish), along with a small amount of “finished concentrated cannabis,” from the house on the 2200 block of Bella Vista Drive, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Investigators identified “a couple” persons of interest but are not releasing additional information as of press time.
The Sheriff’s Office said the extraction process for butane honey oil requires the use of “extremely flammable fuels,” and said their presence at the home in the path of the fire made the situation “even more volatile and dangerous.”
This article appears in Dec 21-28, 2017.