Flow Kana Cannabis Company Admits Employee Mowing Grass Caused Redwood Valley’s Broiler Fire
![Black smoke rising from the Broiler Fire. [Screengrab from the AlertWildfire Cams]](https://kymkemp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/black-smoke.png)
Black smoke rising from the Broiler Fire. [Screengrab from the AlertWildfire Cams]
President Fawson states the fire “originated on our property, after the blades of a mower, operated by our employee, struck rock, causing a spark.”
Fire personnel smothered in smoke.[Photo by Matt LaFever]
In the statement, President Fawson said his company is “truly sorry” for the “stress, anxiety, fear, and loss that our Redwood Valley neighbors have experienced as a result.”
Redwood Valley-Calpella Fire Department Chief Don Dale told us despite Fawson’s statement, the fire’s cause is still under investigation but applauded the company’s willingness to “take the first step of trying to make things right.”
Smoldering cannabis plants burn by the Broiler Fire. [Photo by Matt LaFever]
President Fawson said the company is “actively reaching out to the impacted families as well as local organizations to assist with recovery efforts and community healing…”
Cal Fire personnel on the perimeter of a burning home. [Photo by Matt LaFever]
As of today at noon, Chief Dale said the Broiler fire is 85% contained with crews working on hotspots throughout the affected area. He said this weekend’s winds and heat could contribute to potential flare-ups throughout the area.
In light of the information released from Flow Kana, Chief Dale reminds the public that there should be no weed-eating or mowing after 9:00 a.m. He noted with this weekend’s extreme heat warning, it is best to just not mow “until it cools down.”
One of the homes actively burning at the Broiler Fire. [Photo by Matt LaFever]
Here is the statement issued by Flow Cannabis Company in-full:
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Use goats for grass maintenance in fire season.
Press Release:
Flow Kana burns more farmers and residents
Signed
The Flow Kana Fall Guy
Or, heck, just use.them all the time! Only risk is discovering how delicious goat.meat is in a curry
Hats off to Flow Canna for the transparency and quick actions to right the situation. Accidents happen. This is what leadership is all about- but ONLY if there is follow through.
Just FYI :Goats are browsers not grazers. Sheep are better for keeping the grass down.
Does the distinction apply to bbq techniques. Browsers/grazers? Inquiring minds want to know. Thamks.
I doubt this was lawn that was mowed. They said grass but likely it was the random mix of weeds and grasses and brush. Goats, which browse and graze, are better at that than sheep. At least mine are. But I can also see where a pot farm might not want to risk goats. One hole in the fence and goats would crop their crop.
Does Little Mikey Steimetz only show up on the scene for favorable press releases? This is the first time as a cannabis community member that I ever herd of the Flow Kana President. Guess the CEO wouldnt want to harm his money borrowing name
What did I hear? $100 per goat/week?
The vast majority of house and garage fires in Humboldt county are caused by indoor grows and the idiots that wire them up up.As usual Humboldt turns a blind eye to it. When in reality the home owner,grower and electrician should all be prosecuted.
The article is a bout a grass fire lit by a lawn mower in redwood valley, your comment has nothing to do with it. [edit]
Maybe they should write a letter. Anyways, how about teaching the corporate backed by the stock exchange cannabis conglomerates about wildfire safety.
Well, according to a local with insider knowledge, Flow Kana’s VP sits on the fire safe council, so this “accident” is even more egregious than it already seems to be. Hottest time of the day, in high winds, during a long term drought, and their unfortunate neighbors lost everything.
Mowers starting fires are a WELL KNOWN fire risk.
Ah, shit, are ya fuck’in kidding me!!! This just keeps gettin sadder and sadder. Alright, some local needs to step in and help this Flo-Kana dude because ffs at this point I am actually starting to feel bad for the guy. I don’t mind corporate suffering but I think he’s been beat down enough and the community should at least help him, now. Maybe takin em under one of your guys wings might help him understand our ways if he’s willing. Strip him of his material possessions and make him work an illicit OG hill for a few months and really teach him. Shit, i’ll do it, I got the perfect spot in Trinity if he’s game. No cell, no power, just him, mother nature and many plants to love.
Great thought but it will be hard for this Entity to hire one of the OGs If one did I’d think it was for our country only.
No one from around here wants to be associated with that name
Foe cannabis
Your claim is simply not true. Grows are not even a significant minority of house fires. Haven’t been for a very long time.
right. Same way the oil companies need to be prosecuted for Ecocide for lying about their global carbon impacts creating Runaway Climate Crisis.
And let’s prosecute the companies that make and sell all the Bombs USA drops on civilians all over the world for War Crimes.
And the Pharmaceutical corps for suppression of Deadly side effects of so many chemical poisons they sell. The fact it’s “legal” to advertise these poisons direct to consumers is another issue but really if the current issues of the day are getting you down ask your doctor if FUKITOL is right for you!
But no, we’ll just keep beating up on the hungry little guys….
Yeah and if you make less than 200k per annum you’re one if ’em too!
If you think you’re not just shows how effective the Pyscho Billionaires
DIVIDE and CONQUER is working!
If you’ll excuse me, my dose of FUKITOL awaits!
It was an accident [edit]
Some people are too high to use common sense. Hot engine and dry grass is not a good combo. Because it was an accident they will not be charge with criminal neglect.
It’s not an accident when they are mowing at that time in these conditions. Haha these folks are outsiders who have no clue about the local practices (ie not burning down your neighborhood).
My son in law got the bill for a fire he started with a lawnmower That was in yreka though. Now he won’t even BBQ after March let alone mow his lawn Let’s hope foe canna feels as bad.
I have my doubts
Which cannabis company, association, or board are you a part of?
Hmmm…. Is this one of the Ass Chiefs from FVFD? The VFD who can’t put out a fire to save their asses and whose initial and only response is to establish a perimeter and watch the building burn? The VFD who terrorized citizens and neighbors in the Friendly City with that outdated air raid siren that blares night and day for any response whether PD, EMT or perimeter fire watching? One of those Ass Chiefs? Did you bring marshmallows and beer, Ass Chief???
[edit] There are more fires caused by the homeless than growers. In facts, many growers are also volunteer firefighters. So if anything growers are the opposite of starting fires most times. I think you need another beer to clear your mind!
Homeless people start trash cans on fire. not neighborhoods
Get a fucking string trimmer.
You burned down people’s homes.
The fire chief said that even using a string trimmer (weed whacker) after the morning dew is done isn’t safe.
What a wild time we live in. Fireworks, campfires, trailer chains we all expect to cause fires…now we have to add lawn mowers.
Um, I am pretty sure everyone knows not to use a mower unless you ain’t from here!
Thank you, LL! Please see my reply to your post from this AM, above.
Even the random folks hired in my neighborhood to cut down the tall dry grass know to do it in the damn morning. I cannot understand why anyone would be here trying to excuse this as an accident. It would be like claiming, yeah I was driving 70 in a 45mph zone and hit a car going the actual speed limit, but I didn’t intentionally mean to have the accident, I was just thinking it would be ok for me to drive way over the speed limit for just a short period of time because I was sort of late for an important lunch.
Perfect anology!! Blessings.
I’d like to see the odds of starting wildfire by lawnmower, I’ve mowed so many times myself year round.
Russian roulette is a cool game til someone gets killed.
Or you don’t run over gravel….. but yeah, operating out of insanity suites you best!
Sounds more like they were smoking a joint or something along those lines…
Lots of people make it home drunk driving too – until they don’t.
Now that you know it is unsafe, it might be a good idea to knock it off.
Yep not an accident. Haha these people defending these actions! I’m shocked by the situation.
That weed company should be held responsible for all the damage done to the buildings, and total cost of fighting the fire. Only a jackass would use a power mower to cut dry grass in an area I would assume contained a few rocks. One spark from the blade hitting a rock is all it takes to start a fire. Use of an approved string trimmer with a spark arrestor would do ok. I agree with Guest above that a few goats would keep the grass down during fire season. Thankfully there were no deaths or serious injuries.
The weed company is responsible and they are taking the responsibility for it.im assuming they have liability ins.so all victims of the fire will be compensated.its how corporate liabilities work,just like the liability I have for timber contracting. All though it’s going to be really expensive when kana goes to renew
I expect they can put additional processes and safeguards in place to limit the increase somewhat, but I think the bigger question is whether their insurer will even be willing to renew their policy.
It might be hard to prove negligence in court for simply using a lawnmower, but it sounds like they’re taking responsibility publicly anyways – their insurance company probably doesn’t like what they’re doing.
This community talk is such bullshit coming from a corporation invested in by venture capitalists . Flo kana is a company that is simply looking for a monetary return for its investors that are not even from California !.This return on investments is strictly coming from our local community’s hard work 😓 .
Looks like the greedy corporate pigs are gonna be liable for a few houses.
Good , for all the damage theyve done to all the little people trying to make ends meet
This is a reminder that the most innocent enterprise can cause the spark that starts a fire. The Valley Fire in Lake County (Maybe Ranch Fire? 2015?) was started by a spark from someone driving in a metal stake with a metal hammer. Spark flew, unnoticed, smoldered, then ignited resulting in 1000s of acres burnt homes, businesses and lives lost.
Be aware, in these conditions any spark can ignite an inferno. :’(
A number of years ago I saw a fire start where a tree company had been doing work, after they left. It seems to be really easy to start a smouldering ember that’s invisible for hours before fully igniting.
That’s why logging contractors are typically required to have fire watch personnel on station over night at their work sites after any equipment operations during high fire season. A small smoldering patch can flare up with just a little breeze or contact with the right fuel.
Plus there are minimum humidity levels, below which all work must stop. I recall one year we had to bring in massive work light sets to light up the landing and shine down into the hole as best as possible so we could run the yarder at night for a couple of weeks until the heat and low humidity levels broke.
four days ago I drove past the Beckwourth fire at night, it had just started and was tiny…yesterday drove past and it was the biggest fire in California this season, check out the cloud it formed (note that there’s two big fires just about to merge, so there’s two cloud plumes):
Those pyrocumulous clouds are frighteningly awesome.
I checked and this photo was taken when the two fires were about 30000 acres and 12 hours later (this morning) they were 60000 acres…unfortunately, there is a scorching heat wave hitting the area now with triple didget temperatures and windy. But yes, these clouds were so beautiful and totally unique (to anything I’ve seen)
I was on the mare’ fire in the early 90’s in San Bernardino. The smoke cloud was so big and tall is made rain.
crazy…I grew up in the midwest, and these fire clouds reminded me most of the type of clouds that would be above when tornado sirens went off
It was the Ranch Fire in 2018, but you are correct otherwise.
Great time in my life. We were from the Klamath NF working out of the Scott river ranger district. I went on in my career to the Horseshoe meadow hotshots and then eventually back to the Scott where I was on the Helitack crew. Came to Humboldt and left it all behind.
We know about the stake dinners and coed tents.
Sorry I missed out.
And here we thought they were just destroying our local economy, destroying our mom n pops…pushing through mega-grow ordinances and grabbing all they could with their corporate scam
Lol
SAFETY IS NO ACCIDENT ! Irresponsible neighbors.
Their entire business model is burning weeds. They were just doing what comes natural.
Perhaps they should buy every house they have not burned yet. In that way they can burn their own things next time.
Careless, irresponsible, and placing blame on machines. When a human being was on the machine. In charge of the machine.
This is why livestock exists. Invest in some. Learn. Stop using excuses about cost. Responsibility has a cost. Be responsible next time.
Flow Kana is a terrible blight in Mendocino and will obviously cover their tracks with apologies and crocodile tears.,..They are all over mendo lining their pockets and spending their money out of county….watch them do the bare minimum and business as usual while people have no homes or way to replace what they lost …I would sue!
But they sure do talk pretty words. Words pretty enough to sucker in many want-to-believe-in-the-best people…that is to say GULLIBLE people with rose-colored glasses who mistake their ignorance for “positivity” and boy do we have a lot of them around these parts! I almost puked when I read this part:
President Fawsom said his company will be “mindful and vigilant of the wildfire danger that exists in our community and committed to working closely with fire officials to improve our current fire prevention program and ensure that, moving forward, we are at the forefront of wildfire prevention.”
Mindful and vigilant, motherfucker?! NO. You were not. Shut the fuck up already. The only person still buying your bullshit is Kym
Got a problem with me, Farce?
Dude, seriously!!!
Oh boy, you need to refrain from posting when you have this attitude.
Fyi: Kim doubt you’re are the problem.
That’s one hella big blunt.
every grow that has ever started a fire got shut down with jail time and huge fines. What you think here. slap on the wrist and make a donation. I agree with Anne, what a blight.
We had a grow bed ignite today under the heat the fertilized dirt started smoldering. No flame but definitely smoke. Crazy
I would like to hear Flow Canna admit that their products make people even stupider…
It was an accident. Don’t everybody get all excited.
This is why we have insurance.
Hey, Flow Canna, you got insurance, don’t you?
They are required because the majority of funding comes from ETF’s on public exchanges. Investors don’t wanna get burned.
I love it when you talk about ETF’s…
I love that not one has been profitable in my industry since being issued. It’s our plant, FUCK Legal!!!
Burn ‘em at the steak!!
Burned steak doesn’t taste good.
Stake.
So, this “local” company, that has been claiming their “local” values, their “local” contributions, how they are trying to help the “local” economy. And yet…. You are just now starting to be “mindful and vigilant of the dangers of fire in our area?” You are just now on the “forefront of fire prevention??” Everyone who lives here knows this, especially us in Redwood Valley who dealt with that horrific fire 4 years ago they ripped lives apart who are just coming to normal this year. And you are SORRY for mowing your lawn on a hot day???? Inexcusable! You are not from here or California it seems. You are not welcome here, never have been never will be. You need to be cited for this a you and need consequences for your irresponsible actions! You need improvements on every single aspect of your business in order to ever being a running business again. You disgrace the name of Redwood Valley. You disgrace the name of Mendocino. You disgrace California. You disgrace the hardworking farmer. And most important of all you disgrace this beautiful, powerful plant that provides life for this area.
Fuck FloW Kana
End rant
We take a walk around the neighborhood every morning, and it was windy that day…
A tree on a neighbor’s property had lost a branch onto the telephone cable, and we were admiring the mess it made in the street, and when we walked on we noticed smoke rising from two spots under the wire, about 100 yards away…
We examined the smoky place and while we were looking, it burst into flames!
Well the flames started to spread and my partner said: Call the Fire Department!
I said: “Screw this, I’m getting my garage fire extinguisher”, and I did.
People gotta carry these things in their cars, have them handy at home, and sometimes, even Senior Citizens need to put out a fire before it gets out of control!
Weed whackers, lawn mowers, .22 rifles and many commonly used tools are capable of starting fires… Notice how many fires start near roads! Watch those safety chains!
If you start it, be ready to put it out, and don’t stand there watching, do something!
5 lb ABC fire extinguishers, half price at COSTCO ($24) Keep it handy when mowing the grass…
Cal Fire should hand out fire extinguishers by the millions…
It would save firefighting costs in the Billions!
Telephone/internet cables apparently have a big enough charge to drop sparks, which is what caused the burn I had to extinguish…
Be careful out there!
Applause to the growers for coming forward and taking responsibility. They must be new to California and especially Mendocino. Typical Mendo resident would have blamed his neighbor or global warming.
The ironic part is they cancelled their contract for grazing just a few months back
https://mendofever.com/2021/07/11/local-livestock-manager-remembers-when-flow-kana-canceled-animal-grazing-contract-risking-dangerous-fire-fuel-buildup/?fbclid=IwAR3YTtE1A3PJsf1B6GGpya46zlavik2mUL0gMDMjJxKqNRLOJ7dB1d1oW9g
There is an excellent letter published in the Anderson Valley Advertiser today (Sunday) written by Adam Gaska, regarding this entirely avoidable tragedy.
@Kym, I hope you can link to it here at some point. I know AVA quite often shares a lot of your content on their site.
Here it is. Scroll down a bit. https://www.theava.com/archives/158511
Thank you, Kym.
Now that was very interesting indeed.
You should file a complaint about the farm. You should not have to tolerate that level of risk from an illegal enterprise. The raids are complaint driven. Then need a state license to cultivate at this point.
Beware of wolves in sheeps clothes
[…] the stress anxiety, fear and loss that our Redwood Valley neighbours have endured as a result,” notes a statement from Jarom Fawson, president of Flow Cannabis […]
Does anyone know what water was used to fight this fire? I heard that Lake Mendocino was tapped into even though it’s low, and many people’s personal ponds were also used. Does FCI plan on paying the individuals who owned the ponds and how do they plan to reconcile taking water from an already dry lake?