California Cannabis Farmers Refuse To Evacuate As Fire Encroaches

Cannabis farmers in the communities of Post Mountain and Trinity Pines, California are refusing to evacuate their cultivation sites even as the August Complex wildfires close in and weather forecasters predict more fire-friendly conditions, the Associated Press reports.

Trinity County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Nate Trujillo told the AP that many of the residents that don’t want to leave the area because the cannabis farms are “their livelihood.”

The communities — located in the famed Emerald Triangle — have about 40 legal farms. Authorities estimate there are as many as 400 unlicensed grows.

“There (are) millions of dollars, millions and millions of dollars of marijuana out there. Some of those plants are 16 feet tall, and they are all in the budding stages of growth right now.”