Illegal marijuana grow uncovered during Southeast Fresno house fire

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Authorities uncovered an illegal marijuana grow operation during a house fire in Southeast Fresno on Friday.

Undercover detectives hauled nearly 200 marijuana plants, lights and fans from the home near East Church and South Clovis avenues.

"At this point it looks like there were two bedrooms and garage that were being utilized for marijuana," said Sgt. George Wilson of the Fresno Police Special Investigations Bureau.

The small fire is sparking a large investigation into a 26-year-old suspect who was taken to the hospital for minor burns. The fire looked like it started in one of the humidifiers or one of the fans that used to ventilate for the garage door.

Sgt. Wilson says indoor grows are harder for police to discover without tips from neighbors.

"Some of the key indicators to cause suspicion that an indoor grow is going on in a house is not necessarily the foot traffic but more so the types of things you see going into the house lighting equipment," said Wilson.

During the month of April, detectives chopped nearly 4000 plants from large-scale outdoor grow operations primarily in the southern part of the city. The busts led to nine arrests and the seizure of more than 35 pounds of processed marijuana in addition to the plants. Unlike indoor grows, outdoor grows can be easier to find since they're visible from the air.

"We have our SkyWatch helicopter that goes up on a regular basis and they see things that don't look right in the backyard, such as an entire backyard covered in tarping or an elevated fence," said Wilson.

The warmer the weather gets the more marijuana grows pop up in the area. Fresno police narcotics detectives say generally you can't see marijuana grows from the street But typically you'll smell the marijuana.