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| 4 July 2001 - The San Diego Union-Tribune Park, forest visitors advised of meth labs By Daniel J. Chacon ALPINE – U.S. Forest Service officials, police and government leaders yesterday warned visitors to national parks and forests to be wary of meth-makers and discarded drug labs within the 716 million acres of public land. Pushed out of cities by aggressive anti-drug efforts, manufacturers of methamphetamine have found seclusion in thinly patrolled national forests and parks, which also provide a convenient place to dump the products used to make the drug, such as ether, red phosphorus and Draino, officials said. Nationally, said Rob Hall of Communities Against Substance Abuse, the discovery of meth labs and dumpsites in national forests jumped from 107 in 1999 to 488 in 2000 – a whopping 356 percent increase. Statistics for San Diego County were unavailable, but last year, at least 35 dumpsites linked to a meth lab in Ramona were found nearby along Black Canyon Road. Hundreds of thousands of campers and tourists will be visiting national parks and forests this summer, and “we’re just trying to put out (the message) that you really need to be cognizant that these are dangerous chemicals,” said Donald Thornhill, Jr., a special agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration. “It’s not a problem people are likely to encounter, but it has happened,” said Forest Service patrol Supervisor Rita Plair-Wears. “There are serious abusers of the land – criminal abusers.” At a press conference yesterday atop a scenic viewpoint near Alpine, county Supervisor Dianne Jacob and others cautioned visitors who find the remnants of a methamphetamine lab to call 1-877-NO2METH. The hotline has netted about 100 tips. Drug abusers have also called the number – asking for help, officials said. Meth is a stimulant that can last several hours. It’s a relatively easy drug to make, too. Much of what is needed – Draino, pseudeophedrine are readily available in stores. But the recipe can also be deadly because the manufacturing process is volatile. “Meth labs are extremely flammable and have a high potential to explode,” said Kelly Zombro, California Department of Forestry Battalion Chief. “The threat of these labs is significant to lives and property.” Earlier this year, the 26,000 acre Tahoma State Forest in western Washington was shut down when a major meth lab was found in the backcountry amid the evergreen forests of Mount Rainier. “Everywhere you go (in a forest), you see signs warning you about the natural hazards,” Hall said. “But nothing tells you how to deal with a dumpsite or a meth lab if you run into one.” |
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