Police and forest rangers on Tuesday destroyed about 8,750 marijuana plants growing in Washington County.

Law enforcement says Mexican cartels have moved their growing operations to Utah to avoid the U.S.-Mexico border and police pressure in California. More than 90,000 plants were found in Utah in 2008. Law enforcement in southern Utah has found about 40,000 plants already this year.

There were no arrests in Tuesday's find. The field was in the Pine Valley Mountains near Leeds. Doug Roe, a special agent with the U.S. Forest Service, said the plants were young and not ready for harvesting. They had been abandoned because of insufficient water, Roe said.

--Erin Alberty contributed to this report.

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