3,600 POT PLANTS SEIZED OFF HWY. 41

An Army Black Hawk helicopter swooped down and scooped up thousands
of marijuana plants near Atascadero on Thursday. It was the second
major pot-growing operation busted by law enforcement in the county
this summer.

With the military's help, about a dozen sheriff's and U.S. Forest
Service officials seized 3,667 mature marijuana plants in a rugged
area off Highway 41 near Toro Creek Road, according to sheriff's officials.

The street value of the pot seized has not been calculated, officials said.

At the site, they reportedly found a loaded revolver, a campsite and
processed marijuana that had been weighed and packaged.

U.S. Forest Service rangers had tipped off deputies to the planting operation.

The bust began shortly after dawn when officials trekked to the
rugged area and saw three people running from the site.

"An extensive search of the area was conducted, including using
helicopters, and they weren't able to locate them," sheriff's Sgt.
Brian Hascall said. "It's dense, heavy brush, kind of steep terrain
and difficult to access."

After about three hours of searching on the ground and from the air,
officials abandoned that effort and began eradicating the plants by
cutting them down, then airlifting them with the Black Hawk to a waiting truck.

"We normally call for their assistance on large-scale grows" that are
difficult to reach, Hascall said of the military's help.

The bust was the second such operation halted this growing season,
which runs from May until October, sheriff's Sgt. Rex Reese said.

A marijuana seizure July 8 off Highway 166 in an area near the Santa
Barbara County line yielded 61,000 plants.

Officials planned to guard the latest crop overnight and return early
today to finish cleaning out the remote area, which can only be
reached after a two-hour hike.

"We've had it under surveillance for several weeks," Hascall said
about the operation, which was equipped with an extensive water
irrigation system.

After officials cut down the plants, load them into cargo nets,
attach them to the bottom of the helicopter and dump them into a
truck, they plan to burn them at Camp San Luis Obispo or at a local landfill.