[UPDATE 3:11 p.m.] ‘Normal Raid Season,’ Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office in Sprowel Creek Today [and Benbow]

Image from a 2011 Cal EMA website. Public Domain.

Image from a 2011 Cal EMA website. Public Domain.

According to Lt. Wayne Hanson of the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were in Sprowel Creek on Barnum Timber property with the Campaign Against Marijuana Planting (CAMP) eradicating illegal trespass grows today. Hanson said that several deputies were assisted by CAMP in what he called a “normal raid season” event. Almost every year, Hanson says, deputies from his department are called to the area to remove gardens planted there without the Timber company’s permission. This year, as happens frequently, law enforcement is assisted by a CAMP helicopter.

UPDATE 3:10 p.m.: Lt. Hanson got back to us with information from eradication efforts in Sprowel Creek. He explained that the Barnum Timber gardens had been partially harvested already. However, 350 plants were removed today.

With that complete, the operation has now moved to Benbow.

 

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37 Comments
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Benbow101
Guest
Benbow101
8 years ago

They are busting in Benbow today as well

eurekajim
Guest
eurekajim
8 years ago

Sheriff’s office tying up a Helicopter that could be used for fighting fires so they can go cut down someones garden, good job guys. /sarc

william tillman
Guest
william tillman
8 years ago
Reply to  eurekajim

Don’t they have there own .

Clint Notestine
Guest
Clint Notestine
8 years ago
Reply to  eurekajim

It’s a 100 gallon max bucket you can use on the MD 500 so basically good for a small fire on the side of the road.

Does anyone care?
Guest
Does anyone care?
8 years ago

Hey Jim you should offer up your backyard to one of these trespassers to help solve this problem. You’d be pissed and would want something done if these guys were growing illegally on your property.

eurekajim
Guest
eurekajim
8 years ago

Why don’t the owners of the property do their own weeding instead of calling in the Sheriff to do their weeding for them and tying up a Helicopter that could be used for fighting fires? All for 350 plants and tying up who knows how many officers plus a helicopter at about $2,000 an hr and I bet they didn’t see or arrest anyone.
What’s more important, cutting down pot plants or putting out Forest Fires so that the damm trees don’t burn up?

Ralph
Guest
Ralph
8 years ago
Reply to  eurekajim

That helicopter is not equipped to fight fires. Get an education.

eurekajim
Guest
eurekajim
8 years ago
Reply to  Ralph

“not equipped to fight fires”
Yeah and it takes about an hour to rig a helicopter with a water bucket so they can do water drops. Nice to know where you and the Sheriffs priorities are and where you think the Taxpayers money should be spent, after all what’s more important, chopping down plants for someone on their private property because they’re too lazy to do it themselves or fighting fires to save trees and protect peoples property.

at a loss
Guest
at a loss
8 years ago
Reply to  eurekajim

Listen if you’re so willing to offer advice perhaps you can volunteer to help fight fires. The helicopters used to fight fires are equipped differently than those used for surveillance of grows.

eurekajim
Guest
eurekajim
8 years ago
Reply to  eurekajim

I have worked as a firefighter before, it was my first job out of High School and you don’t know what you’re talking about. If they can longline in Cops to cut down plants they can drop water too.

Clint Notestine
Guest
Clint Notestine
8 years ago
Reply to  eurekajim

If you do a little research you will find that the helicopter used by the sheriff is probably too lightweight to pack an useful amout of water since its max external load is 1000lbs vs a jet ranger which is still pretty small has an external load capability of 4500 lbs.

another guest
Guest
another guest
8 years ago
Reply to  eurekajim

I agree with you, even with out buckets they could be assisting on recon with all that fancy weed finding equipment and the officers on ground could be at base camps helping with logistics or even getting on the lines with shovels. If the prisoners can do it why can’t the officers of our lovely county….oh yeah egos

Ralph
Guest
Ralph
8 years ago
Reply to  eurekajim

Wrong again, Jimmy.

Ralph
Guest
Ralph
8 years ago
Reply to  eurekajim

Wrong again, Jimmy.

william tillman
Guest
william tillman
8 years ago
Reply to  eurekajim

The sheriff’s don’t use water copter they have there own , look up .

Uti
Guest
Uti
8 years ago
Reply to  eurekajim

Well Jim, Barnum Timber’s preferred method would be to go in and spray the place down with herbicide using undocumented workers. It’s better for the salmon this way.

Law Dog
Guest
Law Dog
8 years ago
Reply to  Uti

Uti, if you’re going to speak the truth then please do not convolute it.
They’re Illegal Immigrants.
ILLEGAL.

at a loss
Guest
at a loss
8 years ago
Reply to  Law Dog

All Liberals call them undocumented workers who they believe are law abiding & breaking no rules/laws although you they broke one to get here. However they make a mockery of all those who came here legally & followed the rules.

eurekajim
Guest
eurekajim
8 years ago
Reply to  Uti

You actually have a point there Uti, funny how the righties never blame the employers for hiring undocumented workers, they blame the workers that come here looking for work and also whine about Growers using nasty chemicals on their property but don’t say a word when the Corporate Welfare folks do it on their property and do it 1000x as much.

clearlake fool
Guest
clearlake fool
8 years ago

another smaller fire here outside lower lake called ” grade fire ” and lots of crops burned up or got painted red from the planes
smaller fire 30 or so acres

surfer
Guest
surfer
8 years ago
Reply to  clearlake fool

So if they ask permission to grow on timber land its OK

LAZY SKUNK RANCH
Guest
LAZY SKUNK RANCH
8 years ago

People should just grow weed at the cop shop instead of all this nonsense.

Just plant it in their landscaping, irrigation, pretty safe, maybe you’ll have to give them half, but it’s better than having the entire thing removed.

Cops like to grow weed, too..

nines
Guest
8 years ago

Foresters and loggers are afraid trespass growers will shoot them.

V man
Guest
V man
8 years ago

I agree that this is a big waste of money, but it is important to get trespass growers who do bad things busted. One forest service type detective person with some trail cameras, spending a few hours a week could put together information evidence and pictures to actually bust someone, which in the end is the goal isn’t it? not cutting down 350 plants, when there are hundreds of thousands of plants being grown out there.

eurekajim
Guest
eurekajim
8 years ago
Reply to  V man

Exactly, they tied up a bunch of resources in order to cut down 350 plants and didn’t arrest anyone when the logging company could have done the same thing without using Taxpayer money to do it. From what I understand they not only have their own helicopters but they have their own security personnel too, it’s just another example of Corporate Welfare where they expect the Taxpayers to do their weeding for them instead of doing their weeding themselves.

at a loss
Guest
at a loss
8 years ago
Reply to  eurekajim

This from someone who barely pays taxes, bleeds the beast aka taxpayer. You are certainly entertaining and a good spin master.

Law Dog
Guest
Law Dog
8 years ago
Reply to  at a loss

He’s so stubborn he doesn’t know how to quit.
It’s actually quite amazing to watch.
Maybe amazing is not the right word.. More like unbelievable.

eurekajim
Guest
eurekajim
8 years ago
Reply to  at a loss

Y’all sure do have a lot to say about my private business mr “Drug Warrior,”
do you have any other off topic personal attacks to make about me that aren’t any of your business to begin with? I’d be willing to bet they spent in excess of $50,000 cutting down 350 plants and accomplished diddly squat seeing as they didn’t even arrest one person, in fact it wouldn’t surprise me a bit if it was someone working for the Timber Company who planted them in the first place.

at a loss
Guest
at a loss
8 years ago
Reply to  eurekajim

They going after someone you know Jim. You always seem to always claim personal attack when someone disagrees with your grower sympathizing. What’s up with that?

silverlining
Guest
silverlining
8 years ago

I thought I read it spelled Sproul the other day. I have always used the Sprowel spelling.
Getting piped these days is like being ticketed for speeding at the Indy 500.
A lot of why me and not the other 98 percent on the track. Having to watch ” everything is normal everywhere else” adds to the sting.
Not referring to the trespass as the other day they said they were on BLM but spent lots of time on P.P.

silverlining
Guest
silverlining
8 years ago
Reply to  silverlining

Apologies Justin Wilson. If I had known about it I would not have mentioned Indy 500.

olmanriver
Guest
olmanriver
8 years ago
Reply to  silverlining

Silverlining—- The Sproul brothers tried to live there in the early 1860’s. The spelling in maps from 1886,1898, and 1921 spell it Sprowl, Sproul, and Sprowl… and now Sprowel is in common usage as the ‘correct’ spelling.

silverlining
Guest
silverlining
8 years ago
Reply to  olmanriver

Thank you olmanriver!

ED Denson
Guest
ED Denson
8 years ago
Reply to  silverlining

Sprowel/Sproul depends upon where you are in the county.

Product control
Guest
Product control
8 years ago

Why all the complaining about trespass grows. Between the fires and the cops, all the growers are going to be able to raise the price for their crop. It’s called supply and demand, all the crops burnt and pulled raise the price. It’s just what the old growers did years ago when the price started to fall, turn in your neighbor to get the price back up. Now mother nature and the cops are working for the growers to control the price.

thebigdeal
Guest
thebigdeal
8 years ago

does anyone know where in Benbow

Saucy
Guest
Saucy
8 years ago

wow…Theres a lot of comments on this article.