One person was killed on Saturday morning and another is in critical condition after an explosion at a Los Angeles commercial building that housed what authorities say was a “clandestine” cannabis extraction operation. The fire and death, which occurred at a one-story commercial building in the Green Meadows neighborhood of L.A., is now being investigated by the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles Fire Department, according to multiple reports. 

The LAFD responded to the fire after a 911 call to report the blaze was made at 1:17 a.m. on Saturday. As first responders arrived at the scene, heavy fire was visible at the seemingly vacant commercial building, and several small explosions could be heard within the structure, the LAFD reported on Saturday.

The first firefighters to arrive on the scene forced entry onto the property and into a portion of the well-secured building to begin an offensive attack on the fire. The firefighters retreated, however, after facing “ever-increasing flames, a series of additional explosions, the presence of unknown chemicals and physical compromise of the structure, that rendered it untenable,” including a collapsed roof.

The firefighters then transitioned to a defensive posture, using multiple hose streams of water from aerial ladders. As firefighters battled the blaze, a woman approached the command post that had been set up and reported her belief that a man was still inside the building that was at that point “largely consumed by flames.”

“It took 113 LAFD responders under the command of Assistant Chief Douglas Lewis, 75 minutes to fully extinguish the inferno, confining fire damage to the structure of origin,” the LAFD noted.

Deceased Person Found In Aftermath of Fire

While searching the scene, fire department personnel discovered the body of what appeared to be an adult male deep within the smoldering remains of the building. Authorities also found a large volume of cannabis products, processing machinery, chemicals and pressurized gas cylinders. 

A positive identification of the deceased person and the time and the cause of death are to be determined by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner. The cause of the fire and circumstances surrounding the incident are being investigated by the LAFD and the LAPD.

Although fired department officials originally reported no additional injuries as a result of the fire, LAPD Spokesperson Officer Jader Chaves said that a second person was transported to an area hospital in critical condition, according to a report from the Los Angeles Times. The nature and cause of the person’s injuries were not known, however.

‘Clandestine Lab’ Found 

Chavez added that the operation housed by the building is being investigated as an “illegal butane honey oil clandestine lab.” Many cannabis operators use butane, propane or other hydrocarbons held by containers like those found in the burned-out building to produce cannabis extractions commonly known as butane hash oil, butane honey oil or BHO. The process can be hazardous if not executed carefully, and explosions and fires at such cannabis labs have occurred many times.

Although cannabis is legal in California for both recreational and medicinal purposes, the state has a pervasive and thriving unlicensed marijuana production and processing economy. Authorities investigating Saturday’s fire believed the Green Meadows cannabis operation was part of this gray market.

“We can’t say for sure because we don’t know exactly what permits they had…but we did not see any placarding from the outside that would indicate that this was a cannabis operation, which they should have had,” said LAFD Captain Adam Van Gerpen, according to a report on local television news. “There are multiple different types of chemicals that they use to do this and some of them could be explosive…and have deadly results.”

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Calling it “another step in the wrong direction,” Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers last week vetoed legislation that would have created new, stiff penalties for certain cannabis convictions. 

The first-term Democrat vetoed a Republican-supported bill on Friday that would have established harsher and separate penalties for manufacturing and distributing cannabis or resin by butane extraction.

“I am vetoing this bill in its entirety because I object to creating additional criminal offenses or penalties related to marijuana use,” Evers said in a statement. 

 Evers cited “state after state” that has enacted cannabis reform in recent years––from the end of pot prohibition to decriminalization––as well as a 2019 poll that found almost 60 percent of Wisconsinites in favor of legalizing cannabis for recreational use.

“It is widely accepted, and, indeed, research over the course of the last decade confirms, that marijuana criminalization has had a disproportionate impact on communities of color, especially in Wisconsin where have long-standing racial disparities in incarceration rates,” Evers said, pointing to a 2020 report issued by the American Civil Liberties Union that showed Wisconsin is one of the worst in the United States when it comes to racial disparities stemming from cannabis possession.

“State across our country—both Democrat and Republican-controlled alike—have and are taking meaningful steps to address increased incarceration rates and reduce racial disparities by investing in substance use treatment, community reentry programming, alternatives to incarceration, rehabilitation and other data-driven, evidence-based practices we know are essential solutions to reforming our justice system,” the governor continued regarding the issue. “The data and the science are clear on this issue, and I welcome the Legislature to start having meaningful conversations around justice reform in Wisconsin.”

The bill was passed by Wisconsin lawmakers late last month. It would have instituted a maximum $1,000 fine or six months in prison for the butane-extracted weed. 

Republican lawmakers in the Badger State began discussing the proposal last year. One of the bill’s supporters, GOP Representative Jesse James said the legislation was about safety.

“Growing marijuana in your home is not going to cause an explosion,” James said in testimony supporting the bill. “It could cause a fire if you don’t properly take care of your lamps and everything like that. But this process in and of itself, it’s almost similar to a meth lab.”

But others, like Democratic Representative Kristina Shelton, wondered if the bill would present problems down the line in Wisconsin. 

“My concern is, if and when we—and I will say when because I believe that we will eventually legalize marijuana, I know not everyone agrees with me, but I’m going to say when. …When we legalize marijuana, if we were to pass this bill… would this bill prohibit a closed-loop system that would be considered safe by professionals, using professional-grade equipment?” Shelton said last year.

In his veto statement last week, Evers claimed that the legislation “would simply be another step in the wrong direction.”

The veto was hardly a surprise, given Evers’ support for medical and recreational cannabis—both of which are illegal in Wisconsin. A year ago, his office announced its intention to include a recreational cannabis proposal in its budget for 2021 through 2023. 

“The majority of Wisconsinites agree: it’s time our state legalized marijuana,” Evers said on Twitter at the time. “In my #BadgerBounceback agenda, I’m calling for our state to join states across the nation in legalizing marijuana—a step that would generate more than $165M annually starting in 2023.”

Evers said in a statement last year that states “across the country have moved forward with legalization, and there’s no reason Wisconsin should be left behind.” 

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