UPROOTING BEGINS FOR $15 MILLION WORTH OF CROPS

Marijuana Farm Found In Forest

LOS PADRES NATIONAL FOREST - More than 5,000 marijuana plants
with an estimated street value of $15 million were discovered growing
among thick chaparral in the Los Padres National Forest, the U.S.
Forest Service said.

Several law enforcement agencies worked Wednesday to remove the
illicit plant, a task that would take at least two days because of the
rough terrain, remote location and huge quantity of plants.

Each plant's worth was estimated at about $3,000, and they probably
would have been harvested in September or October, said Kathy Good, a
spokeswoman for the national forest.

``That value may go up because we may find more plants as the removal
operation continues,'' Good said.

About 40 members from the Forest Service, Santa Barbara County
Sheriff's Department, California Department of Justice, and the police
departments from Santa Barbara and Santa Maria worked on uprooting and
clearing the crop.

``The plants are being cut and ferried out by helicopter in large
nets,'' said Good. The plants will be brought to an undisclosed
location and burned.

The marijuana farm in the Bear Creek Drainage area was discovered at
the end of June during a routine air reconnaissance mission.
Authorities kept the area under surveillance and spotted two men on
Tuesday. The men fled into the dense brush, eluding sheriff's
deputies. The men remain at large, but authorities believe they had
been in the area for a while.

The site also had enough food and other supplies for a few months -- a
tent, clothing, fertilizer and tools, Good said.

The marijuana seizure is believed to be one of the largest in the
county.

The density of the surrounding flora made it an ideal location for
camouflaging the marijuana plants, which were 3 to 5 feet tall.

A similar marijuana farm was found last month in neighboring San Luis
Obispo County on a 20-acre site in an unincorporated area of Los Osos.
About 7,200 plants were growing among thick vegetation. The plants had
an estimated street value of $21 million.