Authorities said they have uncovered a marijuana garden in rural Santa Clara County worth nearly $16 million.

San Jose firefighters contained a two-alarm blaze just east of the city Friday evening found marijuana plants in the residence but the Santa Clara Sheriff's Office said the grow may be legitimate.

The fire was reported around 8:40 p.m. at 15707 Highland Drive at Alta Vista Way in unincorporated Santa Clara County. Firefighters were able to contain the fire by about 9:30 p.m. but officials said the residents would likely be displaced because walls were torn down during the suppression.

The Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office on Wednesday identified the armed suspect who was shot and killed last week during a marijuana eradication operation in the Saratoga hills as Artemio Calderon Maldonado of Modesto.

Maldonado, 20, was shot and killed by deputies July 10 as they attempted to secure a marijuana plot targeted for eradication.

Two other armed suspects fled the area and remain at large. They are described as men in their mid-20s.

Wednesday, the sheriff's office reported that eradication efforts at the pot farm are finished. Lt. Ed Wise said about 40,000 plants were destroyed Tuesday, including 28,352 plants found in one of the three pot gardens.

Sheriff's officials estimate each plant, when mature, could have an estimated street value of $3,000 or a maximum of about $116 million for the 40,000 plants.

Law enforcement officials are continuing to eradicate marijuana plants found in a garden in an unincorporated area of the Saratoga Hills where officers encountered three suspects last week, resulting in the shooting death of one suspect.

Members of the Campaign Against Marijuana Planting, which is comprised of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, had entered a large garden last Thursday when they encountered three armed suspects. At least one sheriff's deputy opened fire and one suspect, whose identity has not been released, was fatally shot, according to the sheriff's office.

Investigators Friday removed the body of an unidentified man killed when state and local officers encountered three armed men at a large marijuana farm in the Saratoga hills.

Two Santa Clara County sheriff's deputies involved in the shooting have been placed on paid administrative leave pending the investigation, said Lt. Ed Wise, a sheriff's department spokesman. The deputies' names have not been released.

SARATOGA, Calif. -- NBC11 Reporter Damian Trujillo reported Thursday morning while covering a pot bust that shots were fired and an ambulance had to be called.

Trujillo reported that one person died and two other people were on the run. Santa Clara County sheriff's deputies said they were searching for two Hispanic men in their 20s who fled after being in involved in the shooting.

The frequency of marijuana grow operations broken up this year in East Contra Costa County reveals two long-building story lines, authorities say.

First, the profitability and feasibility of illegal pot cultivation has been generally immune to swings in the economy, with growers exhibiting enough ingenuity to exploit both good and bad housing markets.

Federal agents raided an Oakland office building Wednesday morning, part of an apparent sting of marijuana growing operations across the Bay Area.

A DEA spokesperson could not comment on details of the warrant served at 3333 Telegraph, near 35th Street, where a sign out front reads "Digitized Medical Records," except to say it was part of an ongoing narcotics investigation.

SAN JOSE, Calif. — A small attic fire in a San Jose home has turned into a major marijuana discovery.

When firefighters responded to a report of smoke coming from an attic of the house Tuesday evening, they found marijuana plants growing throughout the three-bedroom residential home.

Authorities say there were nearly 200 marijuana plants, with an estimated street value of up to $1 million in the house.

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- A two-alarm fire Tuesday night resulted in the discovery of about 200 marijuana plants in a San Jose residence, according to fire Capt. Barry Stallard.

The blaze was first reported as an attic fire at 6:40 p.m. at 2318 Shade Tree Lane and a second alarm was quickly called, Stallard said.