Marijuana plants worth $5 million found at California wilderness park

LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. -- Thousands of marijuana plants, worth about $5 million, were discovered in a remote canyon in California's Laguna Wilderness Park on Friday.

Park rangers found the large marijuana grow operation in the Muddy Canyon area, south of the SR-73 toll road and east of Newport Coast Drive, and notified the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

Between 2,500 to 4,000 marijuana plants were at the site in various stages of maturity, according to officials. Authorities say the plants are outside city limits and are on the property of Orange County Parks.

The plants were being pulled out as evidence and transported out by two helicopters making multiple trips. The operation was expected to take five to six hours.

"We know that there was a highly sophisticated irrigation system that was utilized. We recovered some evidence and some property down in the ravine near the plants," said Lt. Jeff Hallock of the O.C. Sheriff's Department.

No one has been arrested, and investigators do not have a suspect description.

Anyone with information is urged to call the Orange County Sheriff's Department at (714) 647-7000.