said he was too busy to actually talk to us formally on camera because he was fighting the rimfire itself. he did add that lightning could be ruled out because there were no thunderstorms around at the time the fire started. he told us the location where the fire began its very remote, you have to make a real effort to get there. we do know huge pot plantations keep being discovered in national fores in california and authorities say they re run by mexican drug cartels. if its cartells, they certainly cost the public a lot of money. $18 million so far is how much the rimfire has cost to fight, 222,000 acres are gone. the firefighters were making steady progress. 40% of it controlled, and edges toward being one of the five largest fires in california. thank you very much.
forest and that was from an i illegal marijuana grow. this has been a problem. they are reporting an increase in the number of huge pot plantations being discovered in national forests. it appears that they are amid drug cartels. the cause though is undetermined we are told and there is no information to provide regarding a connection to a pot farm. we will see what further transpires and what the authorities have to say. containment of the rim fire is now standing at 40%. there are 348 square miles burned away. and the cost to taxpayers has reached $60 million. back to you. i hope they get that under control. jaime? serious concerns for the safety of one of our stroppingest allies in the middle east strongest allies in the middle east. syria saying there could be retaliatory strikes against israel if the u.s. takes military action. doppler ambassador from israel
a marijuana grow type thing. the spot is so remote, it takes a real effort to get there, usually by a helicopter. huge pot plantations keep being discovered on national forest, and they say they re run by mexican drug cartels who lynch worker downs into the sights. this is turning out to be an expensive fire, the rim fire. $18 million so far and 22,000 acres now gone that is bigger than the city of dallas. at least firefighters are getting close to controlling half of it, though, but it is by far the worst we have seen so far this season. heather? dominic dinatale live for us, thank you. kentucky having a tough time of it as well. extreme weather leaving serious damage in the wake. lexington hit with very strong winds, lightning and dangerous flooding. lightning in one neighborhood bringing a tree crashing into someone s front yard, briefly starting a gas fire there. another part of the town, high wind just toppled a tree on cars in a street. opened the door and there is a car th