We're Putting Our Money on 'Jumping the Box' as Cause of Massive Bayview Warehouse Fire
By Joe Eskenazi, Monday, Aug. 31 2009 @ 8:30AM
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Pot, however, was discovered growing on the site -- which makes the journalistically necessary phrase "the cause of the fire is under investigation" into something of a loaded statement. Marijuana growing operations and warehouse fires go together like tequila and hangovers.
As reporters on the scene have duly noted, the cause of this blaze is, indeed, being investigated. But the notion of the city's marijuana growing operations going up in smoke has grown ubiquitous; this was the case just a mile down a road at another warehouse in Bayview that burst into flames in May. Warrants pulled by SF Weekly's Will Harper indicate 860 pot plants were confiscated from a building adjoining that prior Bayview blaze. The culprit? "Jumping the box."
Cops have learned that massive increases in power usage are often the indicator of an indoor growing operation. So growers inexpertly rewire the house to steal electricity by circumventing the power meter ("box").
Since few of these growers bothered to major in electrical engineering in college -- who would have thought that portion of the "Electrical Engineering and Computer Science" major would turn out to be so useful? -- fires are not uncommon.
So, we're waiting to see what the authorities discern at this most current Bayview warehouse blaze. But, frankly any other cause -- carelessly tossed cigarette, illegal fireworks factory -- would be a surprise.
UPDATE: 9:30 a.m.: The San Francisco Police Department officially labeled yesterday's blaze as "Fire, 3-alarm, marijuana grow."
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