A Carbon Canyon Grass Fire Yesterday!

No, no, not a brush fire, a grass fire.

As in marijuana.

The blaze at a residence on Old Carbon Canyon Road at the top of the S-curve on the Chino Hills side of Carbon Canyon, which broke out yesterday about 3 p.m. was assumed to be a run-of-the-mill house fire.

Until responding firefighters discovered that the early 1990s 3,700-square foot Cape Cod style house was empty, except for almost 400 pot plants and what the Los Angeles Times earlier today described as a "large amount" of harvested and processed weed.

That's why there were fire department investigators, police officers, and crime scene tape at the scene, which further delayed an already slow late afternoon commute for those heading eastbound on Carbon Canyon Road, as a fire truck and other vehicles were parked right off Carbon Canyon Road.

Hopefully, passersby didn't feel light-headed and extra hungry after moving through the area.

The house, which used to have beautifully maintained landscaping and an attractive interior, sold in July 2012 and a couple of things stand out now, of course in hindsight. 

One was that the emergency gate off Carbon Canyon Road at the west end of Old Carbon Canyon Road and next to the property was open ever since last summer, after being closed almost all the time for years before.

The other is that the landscaping stated looking deteriorated, dry and full of weeds (well, the actual weeds.)

Even though the structure is just above the bustling state highway, oleander bushes and other landscaping shielded it largely from the roadway, while the seclusion of the main entrance from Old Carbon Canyon Road, which can only be found after navigating through the adjacent Carriage Hills subdivision, obviously made it attractive to whoever decided to establish their "grow house" there.

It appears no one was at the house when the fire, suspected to have started because of equipment in one of the rooms used to grow the illicit product, erupted and it will be interesting to see if anything comes out publicly as a result of investigations.  The damage appears to have mainly occurred on the eastern side of the residence, where blown-out windows are visible.

For the short Times article, click here.

The Los Angeles CBS affiliate has a piece as well here.

To see what this once-gorgeous property looked like just a year ago, click here for the Zillow page on it.