PART 1: FIRE
Protesters hold up signs for Soobleej Kaub Hawj, a 35-year-old Hmong man who was killed by police during a wildfire evacuation in June. (Photo by Neil DaCosta)
“Ever since they passed the water ordinances, they would just keep stoking the tensions,” said Zurg Xiong, a 33-year-old Hmong man who lived in Mount Shasta Vista. “And so finally the tensions actually ignited in that Lava Fire. That's when we knew that we could no longer rely on the local government and the police to actually protect our lives.”“The tensions actually ignited in that Lava Fire. That's when we knew that we could no longer rely on the local government and the police to actually protect our lives.”
Soobleej Kaub Hawj with his wife Lee and their children, ages 7, 14, and 16, in a photo provided by the family's attorney.
PART 2: WAR
A ramshackle camp at a marijuana grow site in Mount Shasta Vista. (Photo by Samir Ferdowsi)
“When you imagine frontier things, like old cowboy and Oregon Trail–type things, that's literally how we're living,” Xiong said. “The weather there is unbelievable. One day you have 60 mile-per-hour winds, the next day you would be under 110 degree-plus of sun.”Xiong was born and raised in the Milwaukee area and had been living in Minneapolis when the protests erupted over the killing of George Floyd by police, including a Hmong-American officer who is charged and has pleaded not guilty in connection with Floyd’s death. Amid the unrest and the pandemic, Xiong decided to “run away into the mountains” and try life on the farm.“When you imagine frontier things, like old cowboy and Oregon Trail–type things, that's literally how we're living.”
Dogs on a property near the Mount Shasta Vista subdivision. (Photo by Samir Ferdowsi)
PART 3: WATER
“There were so many trucks that they'd be lined up waiting,” Griset recalled. “Sometimes they'd have to wait two or three hours to get water, and they were always begging for more.”But even on the busiest days, Griset said, he only sold around 350,000 gallons per day to the Hmong—a few drops in the bucket compared to the roughly 6 million gallons he pours on his own crops. Still, the sight of long queues at Griset’s pump and trucks sloshing with water began to rankle some locals, especially as California’s drought worsened, the snowpack atop Mount Shasta melted away, and shallower wells in the county ran dry.“Sometimes they'd have to wait two or three hours to get water, and they were always begging for more.”
Alfalfa farmer Steve Griset says he used to sell about 350,000 gallons of water per day to the Hmong community, while pumping over 6 million gallons on his own fields. (Photo by Samir Ferdowsi)
Inside a greenhouse full of illegal marijuana plants on a property raided by Sheriff’s deputies in Mount Shasta Vista. (Photo by Neil DaCosta)
Steve Griset was sued by Siskiyou County after he refused to stop pumping water for the Hmong. (Photo by Samir Ferdowsi/VICE News)
PART 4: WEED
A sheriff’s deputy soaks a pile of illicit marijuana during a raid on a grow site in Mount Shasta Vista in August. (Photo by Neil DaCosta)
“We're not talking about a couple of marijuana greenhouses out in the middle of nowhere,” said Sheriff LaRue. “We're talking about a city that has been established just for marijuana. And it's a frightening picture to see.”At the invitation of the sheriff, we followed the deputies as they served search warrants. County inspectors were also involved in the raids, slapping unpermitted structures with abatement notices and ordering owners to clean up trash and debris on public nuisance grounds.“We're talking about a city that has been established just for marijuana. And it's a frightening picture to see.”
A sheriff’s deputy uses a bulldozer to destroy marijuana plants during a raid on a property in Mount Shasta Vista. (Photo by Neil DaCosta)
The area’s Republican congressman, Rep. Doug LaMalfa, fanned the flames by releasing a video where he tagged along with the sheriff’s office to bulldoze greenhouses full of marijuana plants he claimed were owned by an “Asian cartel.”“I love the smell of diesel power in the afternoon,” LaMalfa said, referencing a line from the Vietnam movie Apocalypse Now before firing up the bulldozer.“I love the smell of diesel power in the afternoon.”
Sheriff's deputies haul trash bags full of marijuana at grow site in Mount Shasta Vista. (Photo by Neil DaCosta/VICE News)
Marijuana plants destroyed by sheriff’s deputies during a raid on an illegal grow site in Mount Shasta Vista. (Photo by Neil DaCosta)
Tong Xiong, 37, has led protests in Siskiyou County since the police killing of Hmong man in June. (Photo by Neil DaCosta)
PART 5: BLOOD
The charred remains of a trailer and marijuana greenhouses in Mount Shasta Vista burned by a wildfire in June. (Photo by Samir Ferdowsi)
“I think he popped on the gas a little bit and it just went all bad,” the firefighter said.A farmer who lives across the highway told the paper he estimated hearing 60 shots. Photos that circulated online after the incident showed multiple bullet holes in the doors and windshield of Hawj’s truck and the interior spattered with blood.We spoke to two people who were in the area when the shooting occurred, and who requested anonymity for fear of backlash in the community. They recalled hearing two distinct barrages of gunfire, with dozens of shots in each burst.“I think he popped on the gas a little bit and it just went all bad.”
A memorial for Soobleej Kaub Hawj near the entrance to Mount Shasta Vista, where he was killed by police during a wildfire evacuation on June 28. (Photo by Neil DaCosta)
Soobleej Kaub Hawj with his 14-year-old son in a photo provided by the family's attorneys.
As for the water dispute, the Hmong scored a partial victory on Sept. 3 when a federal judge in Sacramento temporarily blocked the county from enforcing the water truck ordinance, saying it had the effect of “cutting off the water supply to a minority community that has recently been the target of racial prejudice.” Two other ordinances were allowed to stand.The county wants to take the case to trial, and while the fight plays out in court, water trucks have trickled back to the pump at Griset’s alfalfa farm, though fewer than before. Some still live in fear of the police, others simply left and have not returned. Griset suspects that was the desired outcome for county officials.“They've achieved their goal because they wanted these people out of their county,” Griset said. “They don't like them. They want them to leave. And that's exactly what has happened.”Zurg Xiong was part of the exodus. After protesting Hawj’s shooting with a hunger strike, he says he received threats and felt it would no longer be safe to stay in Siskiyou. He hopes to return one day, with a dream of turning Mount Shasta Vista into a charter city, so that residents can govern themselves.“We'd been waiting for the day that they would kill one of us.”
Members of Siskiyou Count’s Hmong community hold signs protesting against Sheriff Jeremiah LaRue. (Photo by Samir Ferdowsi)