SAN JOSE, Calif. --
Police stumbled upon hundreds of marijuana plants Tuesday inside an illegal growing operation, NBC11 reported.
What started out as a house fire in the 2300 block of Shade Tree Lane quickly turned into a drug investigation.
Firefighters saved most of the home, but inside they found about 200 marijuana plants worth an estimated $1 million, NBC11 reported.
Neighbors said the people who were living in the home moved in a few months ago and seemed nice enough. However, they only moved in with a couple of beds and had a lot of late-night visitors, neighbors said.
Firefighters said it appears that the people who lived in the house rigged an electrical bypass in the garage so that they would receive free electricity. Apparently the system overheated, which started the fire, firefighters said.
The alleged growers face felony cultivation charges.
