POT BUST TOTALS $160M

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department continued Wednesday to
dig up, burn and bury thousands of marijuana plants off U.S. Highway
1.

Department spokesman Sgt. Erik Raney said no arrests have been made
after discovery Monday of an estimated 50,000 plants in the San Julian
Ranch property with a street value of about $160 million.

San Julian Ranch manager Jim Poett said that the sheriff's department
discovered a camp on the ranch with sleeping bags, but no suspects. He
also said he believes the suspects were armed, though he would not
elaborate.

Raney said no suspects have been found or identified.

Poett said he was amazed by the size of the marijuana operation. He
said the number of plants found may be considerably more than that
estimated by Raney.

"The extent of the operation was somewhat unbelievable," he
said.

Raney said the eradication effort will continue at least through
today.

The sheriff's department Tuesday night issued a recorded message to
warn residents in the area to be cautious with strangers and alert to
any suspicious activity. Poett said the warnings were issued within a
five mile radius.

Some residents complained that they didn't receive the recorded
message; others complained that the message was sent more than 24
hours after the pot farm was discovered.

"It upset me that we weren't alerted sooner to the fact that something
was going on," said Donna Dimock, who lives on Jalama Road.

Barbara Cabral, who has lived on San Julian Road for 60 years, said
she has usually been notified of incidents such as traffic accidents
and washed out bridges, but this time she learned more from neighbors
than from authorities. She lives north of the pot farm.

"I think we could have been notified - we're right here," she
said.

The sheriff's department put signs on U.S. Highway 1 cautioning
motorists not to pick up hitchhikers.