Penngrove house fire leads to pot grow discovery, two arrests

Firefighters battled a house fire Thursday amid an indoor forest of marijuana plants at a Penngrove home.

A resident of the Dutch Lane property and another man were arrested on suspicion of illegal marijuana cultivation after the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office was called to investigate.

Several people started calling 911 at ?5:55 p.m. to report fire burning the front of a single-story Dutch Lane property. Flames engulfed a porch and had reached the attic when firefighters arrived, Rancho Adobe Capt. Tim Caldwell said.

The blaze was contained within an hour by Rancho Adobe, Gold Ridge, Rohnert Park and Wilmar fire crews. The roof was destroyed, Caldwell said.

The fire appears to have started outside the house, potentially with discarded embers, however the cause was still under investigation, Caldwell said. Inside, the home was filled with 400-watt light bulbs and electrical work to accommodate the equipment needed to grow marijuana indoors. Investigators were examining that work as a potential source of the blaze, according to the preliminary investigation.

Dutch Lane resident Ryan Vrane, 34, and James Brotski, 35, of Santa Rosa ?were booked into the Sonoma County ?Jail on suspicion of marijuana cultivation, possession of marijuana for sale ?and renting a building for unlawful drug manufacturing or distributing, records show.

You can reach Staff Writer Julie Johnson at 521-5220 or julie.johnson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @jjpressdem.