Firefighters discover marijuana grow operation inside burning home

BELLEVUE  -  Fire crews called out to a fire in Bellevue found more than just a house going up in flames.

The also discovered a big marijuana-growing operation inside.  Now they're trying to figure out if the lights and equipment had something to do with the fire's cause.

The flames broke out around 9 Sunday morning in the attic of a home on 170th Ave. N.E., near 124th N.E., in east Bellevue.

The flames burned through wood beams supporting the tile roof.

It took crews a while to be able to safely cut the power to the building. They say wiring from the pot growing operation complicated the situation.

Officials from the Bellevue Fire Department called the indoor pot farm a "large-scale grow operation."

The owner wasn't home when the fire broke out. Firefighters call the damage to the home, "minor," even though the fire burned a hole through the roof.

No one was hurt. The grow operation was not believed to have proper permits, but it was not immediately known if the home owners could face criminal charges.