Hmong American farmers claim firefighters let their marijuana farms burn

SCREEN CAPTURE / SACRAMENTO BEE

Volunteer Hmong Americans fight wildfires in northern California.

Hmong American farmers who have set up hundreds of greenhouses near the Northern California town of Weed to grow marijuana say local authorities and fire agencies allowed the Lava Fire burn through their properties destroying their crops.

Cannibis growers in the Mount Shasta Vista subdivision of Weed say that authorities didn't fight wildfires raging through their properties Monday and blocked them from bringing their own water trucks so they could fight the fire themselves.

Local authorities disputed those charges and said the marijuana farmers blocked roads, threw rocks and forced Cal Fire crews to retreat from the scene, according to the Sacramento Bee. 

The tensions between the farmers, who are mostly of Hmong and Chinese descent, was the latest flare-up between law enforcement and growers in the remote area that reached a deadly point this week when police officers shot and killed a Hmong man who they say tried to drive through a blocked checkpoint waving a gun.

Only when the flames had swept through their neighborhood were the Hmong American farmers allowed to bring in their own watertrucks to wet down any smoldering embers.

Authorities claim there are 5,000 to 6,000 illegal pot growing sites in the Big Springs area in rural Siskiyou County located in the far north of California. California allows marijuana farms if local authorities approve them. Siskiyou bans the pot farms.

The lack of firefighting response is the latest act against the illegal farms. “The fireman just work today only. They don’t do nothing yesterday,” Michael Thao told the Sacramento Bee. "They're trying to get us out."

Sheriff Jeremiah LaRue denied those claims Wednesday, saying in an interview with The Bee that firefighters stayed out of Shasta Vista on Monday because the growers themselves were hostile to first responders. “Rocks were being thrown at fire personnel." he told the Bee. Firefighters pulled out of the area because they felt unsafe.

Monday night, a man identified as a Hmong American was stopped by police from entering a fire zone. As he tried to drive around a road block, police say he brandished a weapon. Police responded with gunfire killing the unidentified driver.

SCREEN CAPTURE / CBS

CalFire firefighters battle wildfire blaze. Evacuation orders are still in effect for the Lava Fire.

The Lava Fire, which began from a lightning strike on June 25, has burned 19,680 acres as of midday Thursday. The fire is burning 3.5 miles northeast of Weed and 4.5 miles southeast of Lake Shastina. The burn area spans over 30 square miles, according to the U.S. Forest Service. 

Mandatory evacuation orders are in place for much of the region, affecting thousands of residents in the Weed and Lake Shastina areas. Road closures are also in place along Highway 97 and Everitt Memorial Highway. Containment increased from 19% to 25% Thursday morning.

The Lava Fire is one of three wildfires in the area with thousands of firefighters battling the blazes.