Fresno County house fire leads to discovery of more than 1,000 marijuana plants

FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- A fire at an abandoned house in Fresno County turned into a criminal investigation.

Fresno firefighters headed out to a house near Fowler and Clinton avenues early Monday morning. Investigators determined the fire was caused by faulty electrical wiring from people trying to illegally steal electricity from a nearby power pole.

As they were putting out the fire, firefighters noticed dozens of marijuana plants. Fresno County sheriff's deputies took over the investigation and discovered more than 1,000 marijuana plants. Investigators say there was no medical marijuana recommendation on site, and the house is in bad shape. The county is expected to condemn the house.

"This neighboring house -- there are kids living there, we see them running around. Right now, this house obviously isn't very secure so they could have easily gotten inside and gotten hurt, which fortunately didn't happen," said sheriff's spokesman Tony Botti.

The Fresno County Sheriff's Office is attempting to contact the property owner and the suspects, who were renting the home.