Pubdate: Tue, 21 Sep 2004
Source: Abbotsford Times (CN BC)
Copyright: 2004 The Abbotsford Times
Contact:  http://www.abbotsfordtimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1009
Author: Jean Konda-Witte
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)

SPARKS FROM POT GROW-OP THREATEN WOODBINE HOMES

All the signs were there; the unkempt yard, the blinds always closed, 
people who lived there that no one ever saw. The van parked close to the 
house, the big dog in the backyard.

The signs were all there.

But still, you just don't want to believe that you're living within 
spitting distance of a marijuana growing operation.

It's a cozy little community on Woodbine Crescent in Abbotsford. And Friday 
evening was like any other. Dads out mowing the grass, little girls drawing 
pictures with coloured chalk on their driveway, boys zooming up and down 
the street on scooters and skateboards, teens walking back from the corner 
store, couples walking the dog. It was Beaver Cleaver land for sure, until 
just after suppertime when the storm broke and sparks started to fly - 
literally.

I was sitting in my living room watching the news when I saw what looked 
like sparklers out of the corner of my eye. My first thought was, 'Oh, 
those kids shouldn't be playing with fireworks yet.' But when I got up to 
take a closer look, I saw that the sparks weren't from the kids but were 
coming from the hydro line attached to the neighbour's house, and within 
seconds the eave of the house was burning.

I grabbed the phone and called 9-1-1 first, then, still wearing my 
slippers, grabbed my camera and headed outside.

Kids were still playing in the street when the entire power line started to 
smoke and melt as the fire traveled down the line to the pole in my front 
yard. Then with a few final sparks, it broke off the house and fell, 
crackling across the street. As folks gathered to take a closer look, 
firefighters arrived, followed closely by a hydro truck and the police.

Rain had put out the small fire on the house, but it continued to smoulder 
within inches of tree limbs that rested on the roof of the rancher.

Making sure the fire hadn't traveled inside the roof, firefighters punched 
holes in the carport ceiling and pried open the side door to check inside. 
That's when they found it --- the giant makeshift electrical panel, just 
off the kitchen, with enough wires and voltage to light up a stadium.

The modest little rancher had been a family home for over 20 years before 
the couple sold it last spring and moved on. They had raised their children 
there, and until a couple years ago, ran a daycare, where youngsters ran 
and played throughout the house and in the basement. Now that basement 
houses other youngsters, juveniles really, hundreds of seedling pot plants 
that reach and stretch towards the warmth of the massive grow lights 
dangling from the ceiling.

Abbotsford police said it's a sizable operation, with about 600 plants 
including mature ones ready for harvest and seedlings in the early stages 
of growth.

Throughout the night neighbours walked by to take a look and later gather 
under umbrellas to watch as the Abbotsford Police Drug Squad arrived to 
dismantle the operation and haul away the plants.

"People say growing marijuana is not dangerous," said Abbotsford Police 
Const. Shinder Kirk. "It is very dangerous and has the potential to impact 
on people who are not involved."

That impact could have had disastrous consequences if the power surge and 
fire had happened a month earlier, when the trees and surrounding area were 
tinder dry from a near record heat wave. With branches from a neighbour's 
tree hanging within inches of where the power meets the house, the giant 
cedar would have gone up like a match stick, catching the neighbour's roof 
and other trees in the old growth neighbourhood on fire.

Back on the street, people gathered late that night to discuss their 
strategy to keep their neighbourhood safe. Many said they know of other 
grow houses around town and were advising their new friends on what to 
watch for.

"No neighourhood is immune to having a grow op in it," said Kirk. 
"Regardless of where you live."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager