Early Friday morning, during a drug raid, a warden of the state Department of Fish and Game was shot in the leg, and a Hispanic man guarding the plants near Mt. Umunhum was killed during an exchange of bullets. Officials have ended their manhunt for a second Hispanic man who was involved in the shooting.

Mexican nationals with gang affiliations are financing many of the marijuana farms in California, which have grown to become sophisticated operations, according to Bob Cooke, a special agent in charge with the California Department of Justice.

Officials say the area was an ideal location for growing marijuana because it is rugged terrain that is closed to public access. Owned by the Mid-Peninsula Regional Open Space District, the plot is part of a 17,000-acre preserve. A heavy canopy of trees shrouded the marijuana garden, which was a mile away from the nearest road. Investigators say they are well aware of pot growers' tendency to use the area to grow their plants.

"This is a local hot spot," said Deputy Terrance Helm, a spokesman for the sheriff's office.

According to Helm, a task force that conducted the early morning raid included officers from the sheriff's office and wardens from the California Department of Fish and Game. Two hours after they started, there was a confrontation with the two men standing guard. The injured warden has been identified as Kyle Kroll, 25, of Mountain View, who was flown out to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center.

Members of the sheriff's SWAT team, camouflaged from head to toe, gathered on a field behind Los Gatos Christian Church as helicopters shuttled them to the hillside to conduct their investigation. One official pointed out that on a nearby fence, there is a sign that proclaimed the area to be a drug-free zone. Not too far away, under the protection of shade, about a dozen police officers from the state department of justice sprayed each other with bug spray as they received their instructions.

Troy Swauger, an information officer with the state Department of Fish and Game, said wardens typically work with local agencies to stamp out marijuana farms. They focus on the environmental aspect of the raids, from cleaning streams of chemicals to restoring habitats.

"Wardens are trained to take care of the wilderness," he said. "They go along with the efforts as a joint task force. No one goes in unprepared."

Drug agents said the recovered mature plants measured up to five feet high and were found in a plot two to three acres big. Each plant is estimated to be worth $4,000. Because of the increased value of marijuana, those guarding the plants have gotten more "brazen." Cooke said those protecting the gardens used to build booby traps to thwart agents, but now they are carrying weapons and willing to fight back.

"They are more confrontational because there is more money involved," Cooke said.

The marijuana caretakers usually camp out, receiving supplies at night, such as food, fertilizer and hoses to irrigate. Consequently, agents have had to change how they carry out the raids. Whereas the caretakers once fled, they now put up armed resistance.

"We provide training to recognize dangers that are out there," Cook said.

Neighbors on nearby Canna Lane were rehashing the day's events on Friday afternoon.

Tracy Kemlo, a Blossom Valley resident for more than 30 years, said she has always heard about people growing marijuana in the older and more rural parts of the area. "It doesn't surprise me at all," Kemlo said. "It's just a shame that people were hurt and killed over it."

Additional reporting by Sarah Holcomb.