Three men were arrested Sunday after authorities found and destroyed about 61,000 marijuana plants near Highway 166, authorities said.

The Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo sheriff's departments found the plants Friday in a 3- mile area just east of Twitchell Reservoir. The plants were spotted during a Santa Barbara County sheriff's helicopter patrol.

The marijuana plants, ranging from 1 to 8 feet high, were in nine separate growing areas near the riverbed, according to the Santa Barbara Sheriff's Department. If the mature plants were harvested, they would have been worth more than $195 million, the department estimated.

[continues 253 words]