I experienced living in Hayfork from 2008 through 2012. This article is very accurate. It was a nightmare. Our life was destroyed by commercial growers from Nevada who bought the lot next to ours right in downtown Hayfork. First came the clear cutting - they even cut trees on our property! Then they terraced the land with heavy equipment supplied by the public water works department. In one weekend, 200 full sized cannabis plants were installed in smart pots. Then the fun began! An RV of transient workers arrived and parked right in front of our living room window. Nothing like the sound of a huge generator out in the open running 24/7! And guns! Shooting anytime day and night. And I almost forgot about the trained security dogs running loose. My kids and I were scared to be in the front yard. Complaints about chemical runoff, wetland destruction, and unlawful habitation were ignored by law enforcement. In fact, the growers had a very cordial relationship with the authorities. I am not anti-weed, but this unbearable situation forced us to sell our home for a loss and move away. I have hope that legalization will stop the destruction of the earth in the mountainous, beautiful areas of California like Hayfork.
Re: “The Growing Divide”
I experienced living in Hayfork from 2008 through 2012. This article is very accurate. It was a nightmare. Our life was destroyed by commercial growers from Nevada who bought the lot next to ours right in downtown Hayfork. First came the clear cutting - they even cut trees on our property! Then they terraced the land with heavy equipment supplied by the public water works department. In one weekend, 200 full sized cannabis plants were installed in smart pots. Then the fun began! An RV of transient workers arrived and parked right in front of our living room window. Nothing like the sound of a huge generator out in the open running 24/7! And guns! Shooting anytime day and night. And I almost forgot about the trained security dogs running loose. My kids and I were scared to be in the front yard. Complaints about chemical runoff, wetland destruction, and unlawful habitation were ignored by law enforcement. In fact, the growers had a very cordial relationship with the authorities. I am not anti-weed, but this unbearable situation forced us to sell our home for a loss and move away. I have hope that legalization will stop the destruction of the earth in the mountainous, beautiful areas of California like Hayfork.