More than 11,000 illicit marijuana plants, with a street value of more than $22 million, were located and eradicated on Thursday by a team of detectives from the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department Narcotics and Aero Bureaus, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Forest Service.

The team located and eradicated a total of 11,249 illicit marijuana plants from the Knapp Ranch and Fish Canyon areas of Angeles National Forest, just north of Santa Clarita.

They also removed 1,560 pounds of trash, consisting of hazardous chemical fertilizers, pesticides, food, propane tanks and camping equipment from the forest.

They repaired damage to three streams and removed extensive irrigation systems which suspects used to divert water away from native plants and animals to irrigate the illicit crops.

Since May, detectives have eradicated a total of 96,441 illicit marijuana plants from public lands with an estimated street value of more than $192 million. Public lands that were cleared included Bear Canyon, Pole Canyon, Maher Canyon, Placerita and Sand Canyons, all in the Newhall area; Leona Valley and Lake Hughes, Shake and Hideaway Canyons near Lancaster and the Shady Oaks Campground area in Azusa.

The public who visit nature areas should be cautious of the hazards posed by criminal marijuana farming. Suspects guard and even booby-trap their plants against law enforcement and competing criminal elements. Additionally, many of the fertilizers and pesticides encountered in illicit farming operations involve hazardous substances, some of which are banned in the United States.

Anyone with information about this crime is encouraged to contact the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s station at 255-1121 or provide information anonymously by calling 800-222-TIPS or visiting the website at http://lacrimestoppers.org.