Elk City, OK – A weekend grass fire at a former marijuana grow operation west of Elk City reignited concerns about abandoned grow houses across Oklahoma and the hazardous materials often left behind.
According to Beckham County Sheriff Derek Manning, the fire occurred Saturday at a property that had previously been the subject of multiple law enforcement actions involving the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics (OBN).
Manning said the site had been raided in the past, marijuana had been confiscated, and the operation was shut down. However, he said the grow operation later resumed before being shut down again. At the time of the fire, the property was believed to be abandoned.
The grass fire spread to a trailer house on the property before moving into what Manning described as a dump area behind the structure.
"There was concern about a 500 gallon tank that was out there that nobody knew for sure what was in it," Manning said. Authorities later determined the tank contained non-hazardous material and it did not become involved in the fire.
The roadway near the property remained closed for an extended period while firefighters worked the scene because of concerns about potential hazardous materials commonly associated with marijuana grow operations.
Manning said abandoned grow houses continue to pose a significant problem across Oklahoma because many were never properly cleaned up after operations ceased.
"There are a lot of chemicals always involved in these grow houses, even the abandoned ones, and that's a problem," he said.
He noted that Oklahoma once had approximately 8,000 marijuana grow operations. Through the work of the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and other law enforcement agencies, that number has been reduced to just over 1,000.
While that represents significant progress, Manning said thousands of former grow sites remain scattered across the state.
"In most cases, those weren't cleaned up. They were just abandoned," he said. "There are a lot of abandoned grow houses around, and in most cases there's a lot of debris, a lot of chemicals laying around, and a lot of issues."
Ownership of many of the properties is also unclear, Manning said, with some owned by individuals no longer in the country or who are incarcerated.
Manning encouraged state lawmakers to pursue funding to address the growing environmental concern.
"There needs to be some funds spent on cleaning up these grow houses," he said. "Just like this one could have been a serious deal if there were some chemicals that became involved during that fire."
No injuries were reported in the weekend fire. The cause of the grass fire was not immediately released.
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