Yesterday morning a raid began in what was probably the Panther Gap area of Southern Humboldt. This area is out in a very rural area southwest of Rockefeller Forest. We have not been able to pinpoint the exact whereabouts but apparently it was another large raid with multiple people involved.
In spite of requests, the DEA and the sheriff’s office have released very little information about yesterday’s raid. This, along with the Miranda/Phillipsville area raid, leads us to speculate this all may be part of a planned big sweep scenario on marijuana grows. Rumors of such a big sweep in the Humboldt area have been talked about since Mendocino’s Operation Full Court Press last year.
According to an email from Casey Rettig, Public Information Officer for the DEA, “DEA with the assistance of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office served a federal search warrant in that area yesterday, July 12, 2012. The search warrant is under court seal and no arrests were made. This investigation is ongoing.”
While Tuesday’s big raid on the Dyersville Loop near Phillipsville had multiple arrests, this one had none. The information that the EPA is involved indicates an angle to the raids that may be different than only prosecuting for marijuana related crimes. Concerns have long been raised in this area about water draws from creeks and rivers, damage caused by grading, etc. It will be interesting to see what further developments await the Humboldt hills in the days ahead.
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