Calif. Wildfire Blamed on Possible Marijuana Operation

Well if it weren't an illicit substance ...

The huge wildfire that has been burning into Yosemite National Park for the last two weeks may have been started by an illegal marijuana growing operation, a local fire official said.

Six days after the Rim fire broke out in the middle of the Northern California forest, Twain Harte Fire and Rescue Chief Todd McNeal told a community meeting the blaze was definitely human-caused.

In his Aug. 23 talk, a video of which has been posted on YouTube, McNeal said that the fire started in a section of the Stanislaus National Forest inaccessible by foot or vehicle and that it was "highly suspected" that an illegal marijuana growing operation that sparked the blaze.