Butane honey oil lab suspected in house fire, explosions near Sebastopol

A house engulfed by flames Tuesday night in the Hessel area outside Sebastopol had been turned into a butane honey oil lab, authorities said Wednesday.

The home at Lone Pine Road west of Gravenstein Highway went up in flames amid explosions reported by neighbors who called in about the 7:44 p.m. blaze, public safety personnel said.

A dog was lost to the fire after it spread from the house to a small structure believed to have been built as a playhouse, Gold Ridge Fire Protection District Chief Shepley Schroth-Cary said. The animal was found dead early Wednesday, he said.

There was otherwise no indication anyone lived in the home, though there was some speculation whoever tended the lab may have slept in the wooden play structure, he said. “The whole house was used for processing,” he said.

Sonoma County Sheriff’s Sgt. Juan Valencia said narcotics investigators would be looking into the incident but had no suspects in the case.

He said it appeared a honey oil lab was involved in explosions at the scene, though Schroth-Cary said the cause of the fire had not been determined.

Honey oil, or hash oil, is a form of concentrated cannabis usually obtained using a solvent - sometimes highly flammable butane - to extract key chemical substances from marijuana-plant material.

Schroth-Cary said the Lone Pine lab appeared to be fairly high tech, with numerous compressed gas cylinders found in the house, though their markings had been burned off. Others left outside were labeled butane, however, he said.

The fire was large enough that Gold Ridge fire crews sought assistance from Sebastopol, Forestville, Graton, Rancho Adobe fire departments, as well as Cal Fire in what turned out to be a several-hour firefight that closed down Lone Pine Road for a time. The Sheriff’s Office and CHP also were involved, and a Sonoma Life Support ambulance crew was on standby, Schroth-Cary said.

A Gold Ridge crew remained on the scene throughout the night, the chief said.

You can reach Staff Writer Mary Callahan at 707-521-5249 or mary.callahan@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @MaryCallahanB.