Humboldt County sheriff’s deputies arrested a man while serving a search warrant at an illegal cannabis cultivation site in the Willow Creek area on 6 August 2026.[1] The Marijuana Enforcement Team, the sheriff’s cannabis unit, searched an area south of Hoopa with help from the Trinity County Sheriff’s Office and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.[1] The sheriff’s office said the Trinity County Sheriff’s Office and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife assisted in serving the warrant.[2]

Deputies eradicated about 6,057 growing cannabis plants and seized and destroyed more than 480 pounds (about 218 kg) of cannabis shake.[2] They also found and seized one rifle at the property.[2] Four people were found working at the site; investigators determined they were not being properly compensated as state law requires, and deputies documented unsafe, inadequate living conditions.[2] The Northern California Coalition to Safeguard Communities provided resources and support to the four workers.[2]

The California Department of Cannabis Control had licensed the parcel for commercial cannabis cultivation, but the licence was suspended, including because the property lacked the required Humboldt County permits.[2] Deputies identified the parcel as actively cultivating in violation of state law through aerial surveillance.[2] Elvecio Machado, 54, of Lafayette, California, was booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on six charges.[2] The six charges were felony marijuana cultivation, maintaining a place for illicit drugs, disobeying a court order, streambed alteration, littering in a waterway and failure to properly pay employees.[3]

Assisting agencies recorded water diversion, water pollution and rubbish-dumping violations, carrying civil fines of up to 8,000 dollars a day per violation, or up to 20,000 dollars for water pollution and for rubbish in or near a waterway.[2] The sheriff’s office said further violations and civil fines were expected from the assisting agencies.[2]