that's all for us tonight. fire sweeps a jersey shore town that is still reeling from sandy that just rebuilt. in fact, if you have teenagers you need to know about the wave of synthetic drugs sweeping across the country and killing some kids. we begin with breaking news on the jersey shore. a massive fire burning still as we speak on the boardwalk of seaside height. high winds are fanning the flames that begun in a custard shop that spread involving at least 19 buildings bringing fire crews from around the area.

an ice cream stand burned. this is the same area that took a heavy beating from super storm sandy. it was rebuilding. the boardwalk just reopened. the boardwalk that just reopened is burning now. it's being torn up to spot the flames from spreading. what's the latest on the fire? >> reporter: anderson, the boardwalk that survived hurricane sandy just around this time last year is engulfed in flames. if you look behind me, there are about 400 firefighters right now that are trying to fight this fire. the winds are not helping. this reached to be a six-alarm fire and it started around 2:30 this afternoon. it started at a custard shop as you said. 20 businesses were affected and governor christie right now is on the scene, anderson? >> do we know what caused the fire at this custard shop? >> reporter: yeah, that is the one big question that officials are not even going to speculate on.

they say they don't know and won't give us any answers. we do know there have been no major injuries. the only injuries so far are with the firefighters and it's from heat exhaustion. >> it seems like this fire has moved incredibly fast. the fact it was able to spread so quickly and engulfed such a large area. >> reporter: yes, that's right. the winds have picked up. we could see this fire from six -- about 20 minutes away from here and we can see the fire going down this path of the boardwalk. we heard from governor christie there may be rain tonight and that could help them contain this, anderson? >> the boardwalk, as we said, reopened this summer after being damaged by sandy. it has to be so devastating for thcommunity. what have people there been telling you? >> reporter: yeah, it's really emotional here. we talked with a woman that was in one of the bars when the smoke came. she said it was the day after 9/11. she was already on edge.

she fled prom that area and also has her family members that are trying to put out these flames. there are a lot on people standing by watching their businesses go down in flames. it's a very, very sad situation. governor christie came out here and addressed the crowd and here is more on what he had to say. >> i know how i feel. i can only imagine how the residents and business owners in this area are feeling. my heart goes out to them. that's why i'm here to make sure every resource is brought to bare to contain this problem and listen, this is us, so we're -- as soon as this is over, we'll pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and get back to work. >> reporter: now governor christie also said that this is an unthinkable situation and he also advised people to not come down to this boardwalk. anderson? >> obviously good advise. margaret conley, appreciate the

information. bill acres, mayor of seaside heights, new jersey. mr. mayor, so sorry we're talking under these circumstances. at this point, do you have a sense of how big of a fire this is? how many structures have been destroyed? >> i think right now, we're somewhere around 30 buildings. it's covering an eight-block area from stockton avenue where they put the break in and thank god it's holding. about 7:45, they said they have it contained to the area to the a block area and i think we'll be okay from there. >> did any of these buildings have sprinklers or anything like that? it seems to have moved to incredibly fast and spread so wide. >> few of the buildings do and of course, they will fair a little better. if you power a boardwalk set up, all the buildings are connected. so the fire is very easy to jump from one to the other and like a tunnel as it's going down moving

the boardwalk from south to north. just like a wind tunnel going down there and carrying it and embers flying about hundreds of yards on to other buildings. so it was getting ahead on where the first break was, finally stopped at lincoln avenue. >> obviously, it breaks your heart knowing the trama this community suffered during hurricane sandy. how long ago was it this area reopened, was rebuilt? >> we got -- the boardwalk itself did open by memorial day weekend but a lot of businesses were bringing up the rear and had themselves in position to -- i think we were fully functional by july and so people got to enjoy what they could of a summer that was somewhat awful, and we were looking forward to our season here, hoping the people that did make the effort to rebuild and got themselves this -- in a position to be open and that is all in jeopardy here too.

so we'll take, you know, we'll evaluate everything tomorrow morning in the light of day and see where we're at. the main thing is everything is out. the area and we roll out the specs that we worked too long to put out the bid and we have all specifications that were already done and put them out again and start over again. >> so you have no doubt you'll rebuild, this area will come back? >> no, there is no doubt at all. you cannot have it. i know it's been just -- seems like it has been a long, hard year, but i can't imagine how hard it would be without this boardwalk. we have to do it. >> it's just so unfair and again, my best to you and to everybody fighting this fire right now and our thoughts and prayers are with everybody in that community. thank you very much, mr. mayor. >> thank you, sir. we've got more breaking news tonight. raging and rising waters out west. the images we've been watching all day are stunning. rising higher and faster than they have seen in centuries in some places.

officials in one colorado town calling it a 500-year flood, the worst of in and around the city of boulder. sending a 20-foot wall of water. north of there a town of,000 completely cut off. homes collapsing, dams threatened and roads washed away. the scene of a breathtaking rescue, the story from anna cabrera. >> reporter: vicious flood waters wash away a road near lafayette, colorado. rescuers zero in on a flipped over vehicle they believe has a survivor inside. minutes seem like hours as they secure lines to the car. the goal -- flip it over and save whoever is in there. finally, the submerged car is turned on the side and rescuers have a chance to break a window and look inside. to the relief of the entire rescue team and to people across the country watching this unfold on live tv, a survivor appears,

but he's not safe yet. as the man puts on a life vest, his car falls again, this time without a window to seal off the flood water. is there an air pocket in the car? precious seconds tick by as the water rushes into the victim and rescuer robert williams leaves the safety of his raft to free the man and finally he makes it to shore. others wouldn't be as fortunate. the floods are blamed for at least three deaths in colorado and officials are bracing for that number to rise. >> this is a devastating overnight storm in the dark, and i anticipate that as the day goes on, we're likely to find other people who are the victims of this storm. i hope and pray that's not true. >> reporter: authorities began their rescues wednesday night, including this family and their dog stranded on their balcony in boulder.

the storm at times dumped an inch of rain an hour. boulder creek which runs through here at the university of colorado flowed at 16 times its normal rate. >> how high the creek was, how fast it was, how muddy it was and dangerous it was, it freaked us out. >> reporter: throughout the day, officials urged residents to stay inside, warning the flood waters are far more dangerous than they appear. that person can very easily just go floating down this river like we're seeing tons of debris because it is fast moving. across the state, water damaged or overflowed dams, roads became impassable and mudslides and homes collapsed. here, the tiny town of lyons was cut off completely by what local officials describe as a 500-year flood. residents have been told they could be on their own for up to three days. rain continued throughout the day and could get worse, for a second night, colorado battles

darkness, flood waters, and a race against time to rescue its residents. >> that water is so fast and powerful. anna cabrera joins me live from boulder. what is the latest from that area? it's still raining. is the water still rising? >> reporter: it is just pouring out here right now, anderson. the ground so saturated, there is nowhere for the water to go. and keep in mind, some areas have had many fires in the past, devastating fires so those burn scars are fueling flooding and debris coming down. huge sticks like this, huge rocks, we're in the middle of a main drag through the city of boulder and you can see several inches of water just racing over the roadway. the forecast calls for rain to continue at least for the next 24 hours. so that means flash flooding could remain a threat for boulder county and much of the state, really. this is a state-wide issue which is why the governor has issued a disaster decoration.

>> people could be on their own for several days. have you heard from authorities they have a sort of a handle on the general situation of where the worst flooding is? >> reporter: i think authorities are hopeful, anderson. they say it's sort of an all hands on deck here within the state. we also know the national guard has arrived and is assisting in some of the rescues they are still trying to make, to get to the people trapped behind walls of debris and feet of water still. they have said that governors from surrounding states are pledging to do everything they can to help. so there is a lot of help here, but the problem remains some physical barriers to try to get to those people who need the most help right now. three people confirmed dead, but again, the sheriff of boulder county said that number could still go up because they still haven't reached all the people who they know need help. anderson? >> to think this happened in the darkness, how terrifying that must be when all of a sudden, that water comes and blacked out.

anna cabrera, appreciate the update. one of the men you saw in the middle. his name is lieutenant rob williams of the north fire rescue district. i spoke with him just a short time ago. rob, watching you rescue that man, it's just incredible. can you take us through what happened? >> we responded to a couple vehicles the road washed out at that point under a culvert and three vehicles had driven off about a 10 to 15 foot embankment, which normally is a dry creek, but because of the rain flash flooded. one victim was able to climb out on his own and we were able to help pull out two other victims, one out of a partially submerged vehicle and another one out of a fully submerged vehicle. >> we're looking at you approaching this partially submerged vehicle on the side. it looks like that car could have swept right into you. >> yes, sir, it was pretty stable and we had looked at it

and knew it wasn't going to move too much. we wanted to come from the bottom and use the calm water from behind it to get up on top of it and secure it to a tow truck so we could pull it on it's side and break the one doe -- the window and pull the victim out of there. >> how long had that man been in the vehicle, in the water? >> it was probably about an hour or maybe even a little bit more. so when we, when i crawled up on top of the vehicle to hook the cable from the tow truck, i could hear some kind of tapping and yelling in there. so we knew we had a live victim in there and wanted to be able to get him out as quick as we could. >> that was the first indication you had there was actually a person alive in there? >> it was, yeah. these are actually three gentlemen who work together and the first victim we pulled out knew who was driving the other car, but he didn't know how many people were in the car with him. they were going to work following each other and drove in the culvert. so we knew we had one victim in there and hoped for the best and

thankfully we were able to get him out in enough time. >> how long does somebody have just in terms of air supply or even hypothermia when they are trapped in a car like that in water. i imagine time was of the essence. >> absolutely time is of the essence and it's something we think about quite a bit. we know any type of rescue like that will take time for us to do it safely and not create ourselves as a victim but also take the necessary risks to get them out in a timely matter. fortunately, their windows were up and had a good air pocket in the vehicles, and we were able to go over to it and break the window and get them out. >> what -- i mean, was the person -- obviously, you were communicating with the person and passed them a vest. were they panicking? kind of shape were they in? >> the first gentleman, they

were able to -- he was anxious to get out of there obviously, and he was more with it than the second gentleman. the second gentleman was hypothermia and weak and had to fight harder to get air as his car was fully upside down. >> have you ever seen anything like this flood before? i've heard some people refer to it as the kind of flood that maybe happens once every couple hundred years. >> yeah, i mean, it's not something that we see every day for sure. it's something that we don't see as often, so we have to train for. more often to make sure we're ready when it happens. >> it's incredible what you did and your whole team is remarkable. rob, thank you so much. rob williams. >> thank you for having me. >> amazing what he did. let us know what you think. follow me on twitter @andersoncooper. a lot more happening today. including the talks over disarming syria. and the wife accused of pushing her husband off a cliff. she's back on the streets. we'll tell you why. fire tearing through the jersey boardwalk on seaside park. we'll watch that closely and

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hey, welcome back. late developments with syria. the dictator, bashar al assad said he would apply for membership in the chemical weapons convention. it bans the stockpile of such weapons. that sounds positive and endorsed russia's plan. the russian foreign minister meeting with secretary of state kerry in geneva.

they are deciding whether to leave open the option of force on a deal. secretary kerry saying their joint effort is not a game out lining what kind of agreement he is seeking. >> it has to be real. it has to be comprehensive. it has to be verifiable. it has to be credible. it has to be timely and implemented in a timely fashion. and finally, there ought to be consequences if it doesn't take place. in the meantime, the leader of the free syrian army said the assad regime is already playing games. >> today, we have information that the regime began to move chemical material to lebanon and iraq. >> denied that allegation. a lot to talk about. jim shoe. john sciutto joins me from geneva. how did the meetings go at the, jim? >> reporter: two levels of

meeting. secretary kerry and the foreign minister and the chemical weapons experts, military experts, both of those equally important, arguably the working level more important because the real goal of these talks is to come out with the framework for how you collect syria's weapons, catalog them ask destroy them. that's what they are after here and that's what secretary kerry says is the test of whether these talks are a success. it's early stages beginning address the issues here and we see some of the differences exposed, you mentioned one on the use of force, another one secretary kerry mentioned this in his first public comments that bashar assad believes he has 30 days before he has to catalog the chemical weapons, that would be standard and secretary kerry says there is nothing standard about the talks, american expectations are for a much quicker delivery and action moving forward. >> assad gave an interview to russian media saying that not only does the threat of force have to be off the table but that arming or supplying of rebels can no longer be

continued, which is clearly, a, a new development, demand by the syrian regime and one that will cause a huge amount of problems given what the obama administration is doing, cnn, "the washington post" yesterday reporting that the cia has begun arming the rebel movements. >> reporter: right, well president assad will not get that. on the issue of force, this is something the u.s. and russians disagree on and something that came out the first moment we saw them standing together and an issue that might be left for a later day. president obama is not going to give up his right, reserving his right to use force but the russians unlikely to sign on to an agreement here that has that as a trigger and set the bar relatively low for what the goals of the talks are. they are looking for a framework for doing those three things, collecting them somewhere and destroying them and just a framework, something to go back to washington and european capitals and elsewhere as a way forward.

that issue of the use of force is something that's probably going to be left for a later day, anderson. >> appreciate the update. let's drill down deeper to the politics practicalities of this. i'll bring in david kay, former u.s. weapons inspector. currently sits on the international advisory board and an expert in this kind of stuff. david, let me start with you, when you hear the general says assad might be transferring chemical weapons out of syria to lebanon and iraq, how big a cause for concern is that? i'm not sure how, how much validity we should put into the statements of that general, but what do you make of it? >> the stockpile is so large it would be physically impossible to move a significant amount, particularly without detection. the one aspect of that that is of concern is movement not to iraq but lebanon, closer to the hezbollah major force structure. people are really concerned about that tonight are the israelis. >> there is talk about the pentagon telling cnn in february

that 75,000 troops would be needed to neutralize the chemical weapons stockpile. that estimate was given before this was negotiation was on the table. that was when cooperation from syria wasn't a possibility. would it take 75,000 troops? >> if you did it in a hostile environment perhaps. i suspect the estimate flows from a desire not to be involved in it. and, you know, it's -- i'm not sure that that is realistic at all. i can tell you that unless you do it in an environment where there is a cease-fire and there is cooperation from the syrians and i hope from the rebels, as well, this is very, very close to impossible. >> getting a seize fire is a whole other problem. david, i mean, it's, you know, when you hear words like framework, it's diplomatic talk. how does this actually work? how would this process work? it doesn't seem like there is going to be a deal within a day

or two, they just have the framework. how long can this negotiation go? >> at best, they will get it wrapped up maybe saturday or early next week. it's got to go back to the u.n. you might see something come out of the u.n. next week. >> how serious is it saying assad says not only does the force have to be off the table which seems to be a nonstarter for the u.s., but that the u.s. can't be armi ining the rebels? >> well, i think it is -- i think those are serious objections, certainly throwing a a monkey wrench into it. basically they can order them, whatever they need to have done. after all, at the end of the day, now russia is the big player here and syria and we'll have to take our cues off of that. it looks like the russians want to drive to a deal, but is it a

good deal or not? if the deal falls apart, can the president get authorization from the congress? >> i think there is a possibility of that. lindsey graham, the republican senator from south carolina, argued on that a couple of nights ago. i think there is support for that but basically, anderson, that could cause a storm in the congress. you can't sit there and be helpless stumbling giant i think the phrase was back in the vietnam war, but on the other hand, if you go after you told the country i want to buy the constitutional message and go to the congress and go anyway, either way, it will be a bad thing. i think, i personally think that the worst possible outcome had the deal fall apart, he looks like he has been -- by the russians into negotiations that fell apart. he can't get a vote from the congress and sits there and does nothing. >> right. >> and at that point, you know, he's really been much worse damaged than now. there is an argument, in

fairness to the president, one veteran diplomat told me today. this is a much better outcome than expected. he stumbled into a resolution. he doesn't have to use the strike, which was a dumb idea to start with. we'll get half or more of the chemical weapons and the russians won't let him use the other half because they have him signing on. so we'll come out, assad still in power but you have to wait and see. that's the best case. i think it's a much bleaker view -- >> mirkier than that. >> i think because he's -- usually american presidents deal with one enemy on the table, this time he is dealing with two and most of the international community thinks assad is a butcher and putin is a thug. >> david kay, we talked about this a little bit yesterday. not even talking about destroying the weapons but just controlling the sites, cataloging them, getting the people on the ground. you said it could take as many as 2,000 inspectors.

terms of how many inspectors qualified, certified inspectors are actually available right now, how many are we talking about? >> worldwide there is a far smaller number. look, the way around this and it's actually one we've used before in iraq is you insist that the syrians go in and do the heavy lifting of counting, moving the chemical weapons around and you as inspectors stand a little bit back in protective gear, i hope, and you observe that. you use their manpower. the syrians, if this deal is to work at all, the syrians have to cooperate by providing the inspectors first with security and then helping them catalog and doing the destruction. otherwise, you're up in numbers you simply can't sustain. >> david kay and david gergin

thank you for your input. hundreds of firefighters on the scene of the jersey shore, dealing with high winds, hoping for rain. live pictures there. we'll check back with the correspondent on the seen. >> the montana bride accused of pushing her new husband off a cliff to his death. synthetic designer drugs, they are flooding the country from china and other places with deadly results. how easy it could be for your teen to buy then and use them. e. you raise her spirits. we tackled your shoulder pain. you make him rookie of the year. we took care of your cold symptoms. you take him on an adventure. tylenol® has been the number 1 doctor recommended brand of pain reliever for over 20 years. but for everything we do, we know you do so much more. tylenol®.

welcome back. crime and punishment tonight, the montana bride accused of murdering her new husband is out of jail. the judge ruled she's not a flight risk while waiting for her trial to begin.

they were married a little more than a week when according to prosecutors they got in an argument on the night of july 7th, while hiking in glaciers national park and in a hit of anger, graham pushed him off a cliff. his body was found days later. so the bride, was she relieved tonight? is she no longer a suspect? >> reporter: she is still a suspect. she's still a defendant, anderson, but what the judge pointed out in his decision is that it's very rare to keep a defendant like this in custody before she faces trial. so he says, can you mitigate the risk of the community, he felt he could and that because she has no criminal history he did release her. that's why she walked out today. >> are there conditions on her release? >> reporter: absolutely. it's not like she can go out hiking or driving around by herself. she was freed on her own recognizance. but she has to be under her parents' custody.

she can only leave the house to go to the doctor, psychiatrist, has to have a mental health evaluation screening and make sure the only other place she goes to is church. given that, the judge says you can go ahead and be free. no bond posted but anderson, this is not the end of the story. the u.s. attorney's office filed a motion to stay this release, hoping to get her back into custody right away. >> i'm curious to know what her late husband's family and friends are saying. have prosecutors laid out what evidence they have? i know a lot of friends and family bad-mouthed her and said she seemed suspicious at the wedding, we didn't really like her. in terms of actual evidence, how do they know she allegedly pushed this guy off a cliff? >> reporter: well, she said she did, and the last story she gave to investigators she says she took her hand to put it on his back and shoved him face-first off the cliff. she told that to investigators. they are really laying that heavy as far as evidence. but there is other evidence like trying to cover this up. she opened up an e-mail account

days after her husband of eight days went missing saying that another person said that he saw this made-up person, he saw her husband dead. so prosecutors will build a case of coverup as well. we reached out to other friends and family members, and you can imagine how they are feeling. there is a lot of outrage and there's a lot of hurt. one person told me it's like a slap in the face. i spoke with a groomsman, cameron frederickson. he said, quote, she openly admitted she took someone else's life. she has done nothing but lie, you're going to let her go home with her family and relax like it's no big deal? are you kidding? you can hear the rage there, anderson. they feel like justice so far has not moved fairly for them. >> if she admitted to police she pushed her then newlywed husband off a cliff, is she pleading not guilty? >> reporter: no, she is -- she is presumed not guilty at this point.

the charge is second-degree murder but she hasn't had the trial yet. she hasn't entered a plea in this. her defense attorneys won't speak to cnn or anybody. the trial hasn't happened yet and because the trial hasn't happened yet, she's allowed to be home on home electronic monitoring. >> fascinating. kyung lah, appreciate it. let's get caught up on other stories we're following, isha. >> a georgia teenager is sentenced to life without parole and 105 years for murdering a toddler. elkins was convicted of shooting the child while trying to rob the boy's mother. he was sparred the death penalty because he was 17 at the time. casey anthony may have to answer questions under oath about why she tried to cover up her daughter kaley's disappearance in 2008. that word from an attorney for a woman suing her to defamation. she was acquitted in 2011. 2013 is on track to be the worst year for measles in the

u.s. in nearly two decades. measles appear on the body in a rush of tiny red spots and most of the new cases diagnosed in people who were not vaccinated. anderson, the creator of harry potter is about to make a screen writing debut. j.k. rowling will write the script for a movie about a hog wart textbook "fantastic beasts and where to find them." it won't be a prequel or sequel. the first of planned new movies and film. >> i can hear the voices of children rejoicing around the world. >> and mine. >> and mine, too. i've seen them all. i must admit. that's great. exciting. thanks very much. >> very exciting. i want to quickly show you the very hard work of firefighters right now on the jersey shore. the flames still consuming a big piece of the boardwalk on seaside park. i believe that's a live picture but i want to show you pictures we've been looking at over the last couple hours where you get a sense of the scale of the fire, a whole eight block area. we'll bring you a late status

report ahead on 360 and show you how easy it is for your teenager to buy synthetic drugs that deliver dangerous, even deadly highs of where these drugs are come from and we will show you why it's hard to stop the flood. we will keep them honest. [ man ] look how beautiful it is. ♪ honey, we need to talk. we do? i took the trash out. i know. and thank you so much for that. i think we should get a medicare supplement insurance plan. right now? [ male announcer ] whether you're new to medicare or not, you may know it only covers about 80% of your part b medical expenses. it's up to you to pay the difference. so think about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company.

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hey, welcome back. keeping them honest tonight. a threat all parents need to know about. colorado health officials are investigating three deaths to determine if they may be tied on a batch of synthetic marijuana that sent 350 to the hospital. synthetic designer drugs are flooding into the united states mostly from china and being sold to younger and younger teenagers. the highs can be potent, dangerously so and caused psychotic reactions, suicides and more. officials are having a tough time keeping track of them all. our investigative correspondent drew griffin went on a raid and shows how easy it could be for your teen to buy synthetic drugs. here is his report. >> reporter: the target -- convenient stores in louisiana.

yind behind the counters, stuffed in backpacks, these tiny sealed packets of what police say is synthetic marijuana selling for 20 to $30 a piece. >> just another poison. people call it drugs, but i call it a poison. >> reporter: what it is is actual chemicals sprayed on plants and sold in packages that clearly say not for human consumption, but in reality, that's exactly what they are used for with often tragic results. according to the dea, more than 200 new synthetic drugs have come to the u.s. in the last four years known as spice and bath salts. law enforcement says they are designed to mimic the highs of marijuana, cocaine and other controlled drugs. but unlike those controlled drugs, this stuff you can easily buy online on hundreds of sites on the internet that say it's legal. we did it. >> these are all 200 milligrams. this is novelty collectors' item.

black ultra and blueberry haze. collector's item, not for human consumption is what it says on this product description. i wonder why you would collect this stuff. we sent these collectors items off to a chemical lab to determine exactly what is inside them. robin smith already knows what they can do. >> he wanted to know if i could read his mind. he was having some hallucinations. he told me he had smoked and my reaction was that he had gotten it out of the kitchen cabinet. >> reporter: her son was 15 when he smoked spice, a chemical version of marijuana and tried to kill himself before seeking help. he spent the last three years in and out of psychiatric hospitals. >> we had a normal functioning

child, and the next day, we had a non-functioning child who did not want to live -- who did not want to be here, who was hearing things and seeing things. >> reporter: over the last three years, more than 40 states and the federal government have passed laws out lawing certain chemicals used to make the synthetic drugs, but the manufacturers have stayed one step ahead of the law by constantly altering the chemical composition. >> once they alter that chemical, it's no longer a controlled substance. >> reporter: so it's a game? >> it is. >> reporter: every time, even the hint of a regulation comes for a particular chemical compound, they are already developing the next mode? >> these chemical companies have a new chemical compound ready to take the place of the drugs we control. >> reporter: is there any legitimate industrial purposes for those chemicals?

>> we're not aware. >> reporter: which brings us to our online purchase of the synthetic drugs we sent to a chemical lab in ann arbor, michigan. it is here that our packs of afghan black ultra, ivy dove and ocean snow were tested and all of them contain dangerous chemicals sold according to greg with only one purpose. >> we found a variety of cub stances including synthetic flavonoids and hother chemicals. >> reporter: how dangerous is this stuff? >> quite dangerous. there is a variety of reported effects ranging from rapid or irregular heart beat, hallucinations, seizures, psychosis, there are several reported suicides. >> reporter: and vice president of chemistry here and works

closely with law enforcement to help them find an infestation of chemically produced poison swarming the u.s. so when the package says not for human consumption, it's a collector's item? >> i don't believe it. >> reporter: the black ultra looks like marijuana linked most closely with a known and dangerous compound called xlr 11, a drug made illegal. a schedule one drug in the same law enforcement category as heroin and the website we bought it from says they don't sell banned substances. cayman chemicals company ran the test to compare our purchases to to the chemical known drugs and our afghan black ultra had something else, a surprise spike. >> that is the hallucination. >> reporter: added for an added high and the other packages, ocean snow, ivy dove ultra, vanilla sky contained

methiopropimine. >> it looks like a breath freshener is actually a variety you might say of crystal meth for a layman. and in your computer this chemical. >> uh-huh. >> reporter: so where are the drugs coming from? mostly from labs in china where the chemicals are produced and exports in bulk containers to the u.s. once they get here, they are sprayed on plants or other compounds and packaged and sold online and in places like that convenience store in louisiana, just one site over 35 states, part of a massive crack down by the dea and local law enforcement. the results, 172 arrests and more than 20,000 pounds of synthetic drugs seized. >> so drew, in your report you said most of the chemicals are coming from china. why can't they be stopped? >> it's tough, anderson.

according to the dea they are smuggled in bulk, sometimes called research chemicals. everyone i talk to say there is no industrial use for this stuff. the dea says the united states is in dialogue with the chinese government to try and stop the flow of these chemicals but obviously, you know, while they talk, the poisons continue to arrive. >> and getting sold as collectors items or in packages that say not for human consumption, right? >> yeah, it appears to be a dangerous joke. you saw how easy it was for us to purchase this stuff. i don't think it can be stopped which is why parents especially need to be aware. this stuff is not legal, is not safe and absolutely no government controls of what is inside these packages. they call it synthetic pot. it's not pot. it just chemicals. >> drew, thanks for the reporting. >> up next, we'll update the breaking news, a giant fire raging through the new jersey shore across a six-block area.

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>> want to quickly update the breaking story. the massive fire devastating seaside park, firefighters hundreds of them from across the area are hard at work right now. their job made tougher by gusting winds, blowing embers. robert is with us now for more on the situation. what's the latest? >> right now, the structure fire basically started around stockton by the ice cream shop and down to lincoln. that is about five blocks of boardwalk. they took part of the boardwalk and created a fire break and right now try to contain it at lincoln to hold it there. we have probably about four counties worth of fire departments in here right now trying to fight this blaze. we're taking water from the bay. we're taking water from all the municipalities that surround us to fight this fire.

it's right now something that they think will take 24 to 46 hours to get this in place. the town of seaside heights declared a state of emergency to free up more assets to bring in here like state police and state apparatus to help the next 24 to 46 hours. >> buildings are burning. this is still out of control? this is not contained? >> absolutely, absolutely. there are flames on the boardwalk right now with a fire apparatus pouring water on them right now. >> and -- >> this is going on now for probably about 2:15, about 2:15 is probably the first signs of smoke coming out of the ice cream shop on the corner. >> i was talking to the mayor earlier. a lot of the buildings are connected and that's why the fire spread so quickly? is that correct? >> absolutely. a lot of them -- the boardwalk they are all connected and also

sitting on the boardwalk and we had -- we had a wind that was basically blowing, a pretty stiff wind. and the wind goes under the boardwalk and the fuel for fire and coming under the boardwalk and feeding it and as it comes up, it's feeding the flame. it's a tough fire to fight. >> and it's heart breaking knowing all this community has been through given hurricane sandy. our best to you, robert. thank you for talking to us and our best to the firefighters trying to battle it. we'll continue to check on it throughout the evening, and we'll be right back.