Officials Suspect Mexican Cartel Arsonists Behind Historic Fires as California Pot Farms Burn to the Ground

View from the air: Santa Rosa, California, neighborhoods, businesses destroyed by wildfires. Story: https://t.co/Lbu0Po3Aig pic.twitter.com/Byee9e0ldg

— AP West Region (@APWestRegion) October 14, 2017

From Got News:

Numerous wildfires in Northern California have left 39 people dead and hundreds missing, and forced over 100,000 to abandon their homes and evacuate. Law enforcement officials and legal marijuana industry leaders alike are beginning to suspect the Mexican drug cartels played a role in starting deadly the fires. While massive wildfires are far from uncommon in California’s forests, they usually occur in December and January, not October. Moreover, this year’s have widely been described as unprecedented in size and destruction. Some 16 fires have burned over 200,000 acres of land in Northern California so far: Law enforcement authorities – including senior Department of Homeland Security officials – and key people within the legal marijuana business quickly noticed that the areas hit hardest by the fires are the same places that California’s marijuana industry legally grows cannabis, and are now starting to suspect foul play.

The suspicious timing and sheer destruction of the fires has led them to believe the Mexican drug cartels – infamous for their ruthless tactics – had a hand in starting them. These cartels, which run a large share of the world’s multi-billion dollar illegal drug trade, certainly have the means to pull of an attack like this. They also have an enormous incentive to drive up prices and hurt their competitors, and these fires are already accomplishing that. If Mexican drug lord involvement is confirmed, it will likely spark an international crisis between the United States and Mexico over the latter’s failure to rein in its criminal cartels. Facebook photos provided to GotNews show the wildfires have caused staggering damage, with several before-and-after pictures revealing the extent of the devastation:

In early September, multiple witnesses reported seeing a man tossing incendiary devices from a car into dry brush in the Santa Rosa area. This story was reported by NBC News in the Bay Area:

A passing motorist intentionally started multiple fires Sunday in West Santa Rosa, according to the Windsor/Rincon Valley Fire Department. 

At about 5 p.m., along Stony Point Road, north of Todd Avenue, witnesses reported someone tossing fireworks or other incendiary devices into the dry vegetation along homes from a moving vehicle, fire officials said. 

The flames destroyed a barn and vehicle and threatened multiple homes, people and animals, officials said. 

At lease six fires were reported, fire officials said.