Man injured in Costa Mesa fire is suspected of running marijuana-related operations

A man suspected of running an illegal butane honey oil extraction lab and a marijuana growing operation inside a Costa Mesa home was burned in a fire Thursday night, authorities said.

The fire in the backyard of the home in the 2200 block of Avalon Street was reported around 9 p.m. Fire crews extinguished the blaze within 20 minutes, said Costa Mesa fire Capt. Chris Coates.

A man in his 20s suffered moderate but non-life-threatening burns and was taken to Orange County Global Medical Center in Santa Ana, Coates said.

The cause of the fire has not been determined, Coates said. Authorities said the man was cooking in the backyard when the fire began, but it isn’t clear what he was making.

Authorities suspect the man was running a butane honey oil extraction operation, a volatile process in which gases are heated to extract tetrahydrocannabinol, also known as THC, from marijuana leaves. THC is the main psychoactive chemical in cannabis.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department bomb squad, hazardous-materials crews and Costa Mesa police went to the home to investigate after the fire was put out.

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