[Sativa]

Federal authorities are investigating who stored 2,000 pounds of marijuana in a warehouse that caught fire Wednesday.

The fire ignited about 4:30 a.m. at a warehouse one block east of Highway 281 on Owassa Road.

More than 35 Edinburg and Pharr firefighters doused the blaze with about 1,000 gallons of water and five gallons of chemical suppressant.

They extinguished the fire by 5 a.m. The warehouse is owned by D.M. Roth Inc., according to an employee of the company.

As of late Wednesday afternoon, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents had not identified any suspects who may have owned the marijuana, ICE spokeswoman Nina Pruneda said. The Hidalgo County fire marshal, meanwhile, was still investigating whether arson may have been the cause.

The first firefighters who arrived at the scene found the back door open and the burning warehouse empty. They were exposed to so much marijuana smoke that there is no way they could pass a drug test, said Edinburg Fire Chief Shawn Snider.

He ordered all the firefighters to wear air packs, which prevent them from inhaling toxic or hazardous fumes.

Hours after the fire was put out, the sweet, musty smell of marijuana lingered.
But the smell didn’t stop three stray dogs from walking into the warehouse. The remaining marijuana was loosely packed on the eastern wall of the building. There were a few folded tables, wood pallets and five air fresheners inside.

Hidalgo County sheriff’s deputies worked most of the morning placing the marijuana that was not burned in 90 bound bundles.

Rick Krause, who owns a stained-glass shop in the same warehouse complex, said he never saw anyone walk in or out of the burned building, though he did notice that a truck had been parked in the burned structure’s loading-dock area all week.



News Hawk- User http://www.420magazine.com/
Source: Brownsville Herald
Author: ANDRES R. MARTINEZ
Contact: andresm@themonitor.com
Copyright: Freedom Communications
Website: Fire strikes warehouse filled with marijuana