In California, wildfires are as common as seeing an Angelino rolling up some blunt wraps, but nobody ever thought that cannabis would be the start of one. On Wednesday, July 7th, in Mendocino County, California-based cannabis company Flow Kana confessed to one of its employees starting a fire that charred 80 acres, causing 250 employees to flee the scene in addition to decimating three houses. Flow Kana said the fire was due to an employee mowing the grass and striking a rock, causing a spark.

It’s insane that a spark from a rock caused such a blaze. Freelance reporter Sarah Stierch posted a statement from the company’s president Jarom Fawson saying, “We are mindful and vigilant of the wildfire danger that exists in our community and committed to working closely with fire officials to improve our current fire prevention program and ensure that, moving forward, we are at the forefront of wildfire prevention.” This is yet another ding on cannabis cultivators’ reputations. Many believe they are notorious – especially in Northern California – for having a long and unfortunate tracklist of making wildfire season worse.

Usually, it’s illegal grows that cause these wildfires with unsafe practices. It’s quite a surprise to see a legal, fully operational cannabis business with all the proper licensing cause such a disaster. Fortunately, Flow Kana took responsibility for their actions and have plans in place to create a safer cultivation process to stop the rise in wildfires. This year, in particular, wildfires started unseasonably early and heatwaves have been brutal.