Indoor pot grow north of Ukiah suspected of igniting fire, causing estimated $500,000 damage

A fire suspected of being ignited by an indoor pot-growing operation destroyed a building and multiple vehicles Sunday in an industrial park north of Ukiah, fire officials said.

The fire also burned about 3 acres of brush near a mobile home park along Lake Mendocino Drive, said Ukiah Valley Fire Division Chief Syd Dearborn.

Little was left of the estimated 2,200 square-foot building rented to Eddy’s Detail Shop, which apparently included a paint booth and the marijuana cultivation operation, he said. Vehicles were being stored inside and outside the building, Dearborn said. The fire is suspected of being caused by an electrical malfunction in the pot-growing section of the building, Dearborn said.

Neither the number of marijuana plants being grown nor the number of vehicles destroyed was available Tuesday.

The estimated loss from the fire is $500,000, Dearborn said.