Yavapai County, Arizona - (Earth Mysteries): Police are probing reports that a dodgy Branch Davidian-style herbal hookah pipe was involved in today's sweatbox tragedy.
Two people died and at least 20 were taken ill as fifty born-again eco-nudist gathered in a Sedona sauna tent.
"One of my officers sensed the distinct odor of ritual combustibles," Verde Valley Fire District Chief Jerry Doerksen told reporters.
"All our post-Waco training told us this could be a Koresh-style suicide cult...or of course a Shamans Anonymous annual summer picnic."
Participants had paid up to $9,000 to take part in the sweat dome where the area's indigenous red rocks form the centerpiece of the Great Autumn Ceremony.
The crimson boulders are ritually heated in the sweat lodge fire before potent aphrodisiacs are poured over them, creating a steamy swamp similar to the aroma of three day old armpits.
"You're not supposed to smoke them, like marijuana, of course," Doerksen added.
