It had been an emotional meeting for Larson. He grew upset over citizen complaints that marijuana farms were expanding all over the county. He angrily said he wished the county could bulldoze them all even if it was illegal and would result in lawsuits.
A short time later, after members of the news media had left the meeting, Larson reported feeling dizzy and went back into his office. He summoned Supervisor Judy Case, a Registered Nurse for assistance. Board President Henry Perea told us Larson was quickly cared for.
"We had a lot of tough issues today. A lot of tough issues in the morning but yeah, we never expect that type of situation to happen but fortunately we were able to work with him very carefully we have a nurse on the board who was able to monitor him until the paramedics arrived and we got him there in time."
Larson never lost consciousness.
Phil Larson's brother Don, a retired college instructor and local media political analyst told us by phone that his brother was doing fine and may have suffered a sudden onset of an irregular heartbeat.
Because of the incident the board cancelled the rest of the meeting. Several important issues including jail mental health and inmate drug treatment services were put off until the next meeting on September 10th. Perea says he's hoping Larson makes a swift recovery.
"They still are monitoring him to make sure he's okay, but so far, so good. Just thoughts and prayers with the family."
Phil Larson was first elected to the board in 2002. He serves District One which covers all of Fresno West of Highway 99 and the communities of Kerman, Firebaugh, Mendota and San Joaquin.
A press release issued by Fresno County late Tuesday said Larson had been admitted to the hospital and was "resting comfortably."
Larson told Action News on Monday he would be announcing whether he planned to seek re-election on September 5th, his 80th birthday.
