OCEAN TWP., N.J. (WPVI) — A fast-moving wildfire engulfing part of New Jersey’s Pine Barrens in Ocean County has not resulted in any injuries, officials said, though it’s expected to grow before forecast rain later this week.
Officials announced Thursday morning that an Ocean Township man has been arrested for arson in connection to the massive blaze.
He has been identified as 19-year-old Joseph Kling, according to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office.
MORE | Maps show location of Ocean County, New Jersey wildfire and current road closures
The New Jersey Forest Fire Service said the blaze has grown to 15,000 acres and is 50% contained as of Thursday morning.
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
Acting New Jersey Governor Tahesha Way declared a State of Emergency in response to the blaze.
Based on the weather forecast, the fire is expected to continue until we get rain, which should move into the area Friday night into Saturday.
“These fires will persist for a long time until we get soaking rainfall. The Forest Fire Service will obviously stay on them and work the spots and work the edges and keep it in box, but to fully suppress it and keep it from spreading through the ground that it’s going to consume … you need a soaking rainfall for that,” said John Cecil, the assistant commissioner for state parks, forests, and historic sites.
Officials said this could end up being the largest wildfire in New Jersey in 20 years.
Investigators say they were able to pinpoint the origin of the fire by using GPS and that the cause of the fire was an improperly extinguished bonfire.
Kling is accused of setting wooden pallets on fire before leaving the area without the fire being fully extinguished.
He was taken into custody at the Ocean Township (Waretown) Police Headquarters and has since been taken to the Ocean County Jail where he is waiting for a detention hearing.
What we know about the fire
The “Jones Road Wildfire” was detected by the Cedar Bridge Fire Tower around 9:45 a.m. on Tuesday at the Greenwood Forest Wildlife Management Area in Barnegat Township. By the evening, the flames spread into both Ocean and Lacey townships in the county.
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The fire has burned more than 13 square miles (34 square kilometers) of land, fire officials said.
The smoke from the wildfire is so heavy that it is being picked up by radar.
Smoke from Jones Road Wildfire picked up on Storm Tracker radar
Chopper 6 was overhead Tuesday night as crews fought the inferno, as the smoky haze brought a stretch of the Garden State Parkway, one of New Jersey’s busiest highways, to a halt.
Chopper 6 overhead as NJ wildfire grows to 3,200 acres on April 22, 2025.
Officials noted that dry conditions in the southern part of the state have influenced the fire.
Video released by the state agency overseeing the fire service showed billowing white and black clouds of smoke, intense flames engulfing pines and firefighters dousing a charred structure.
Officials provide update on 12,000-acre wildfire burning in Ocean County | April 23, 2025
During a 7:30 p.m. update on Wednesday, officials said 12 structures were still being threatened along Route 532. During the height of the firefight, 1,320 structures were threatened, but officials later said no homes had been lost. However, one commercial building, as well as multiple outbuildings and vehicles, were destroyed by the fire.
The fight continues against a wildfire in Ocean County, New Jersey that has consumed thousands of acres since it erupted Tuesday.
Evacuations lifted
According to the New Jersey Forest Fire Service, 5,000 residents were forced to evacuate Tuesday night.
As of 6:30 a.m. Wednesday, all evacuation orders have been lifted, and the Garden State Parkway and Route 9 have reopened in both directions as of Wednesday morning.
Residents were advised to use caution when traveling as heavy smoke remains in the area.
Neighbors share videos of Jones Road Wildfire in New Jersey
Debbie Schaffer, of Waretown, was one of those who had to leave.
“It’s a little scary… like I didn’t have an emergency bag packed, so I was kind of walking in circles knowing I had to get out of there, but trying to think, ‘What do I need?'” she recalled.
PICTURED: Tyler Granato, of Forked River, NJ, captured this image from a home as smoke from a nearby wildfire raged on in the distance.
Power restored
JCP&L said just after 5 p.m. Wednesday that power has been restored to all customers.
Barnegat Township police say Jersey Central Power & Light had de-energized all lines in and out of our Oyster Creek substation at the request of the Forest Fire Service.
“This is for the safety of crews battling the fire,” the company said.
Approximately 25,000 JCP&L customers were affected by this forced outage, JCP&L said in a statement.
Road Closures
Some road closures remain in place until further notice, including the following:
- Bryant Road is closed between Wells Mills Road (Rt. 532) and Rt. 539
- Jones Road is closed between Rt. 532 and Bryant Road
Get real-time traffic updates at 6abc.com/traffic.
Fire officials are also reminding residents to not fly recreational drones near the fire zones.
“If YOU fly, WE can’t!” the New Jersey Fire Service posted on Facebook.
The FAA often implements Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs) around wildfires to protect aircraft that are involved in the firefighting operation.
Officials say flying a drone near a wildfire can be dangerous and cost lives by delaying their response.
“During a wildfire, our aircraft fly low to the ground, often at the same altitude that a drone would fly. If a drone is detected flying over or near a wildfire, all Forest Fire Service air support will be grounded – hampering suppression and observation efforts,” the post said. “Please do your part and prevent interfering with wildfire suppression by staying grounded.”
Forest fires are a common occurrence in the Pine Barrens, a 1.1 million-acre (445,000-hectare) state and federally protected reserve about the size of the Grand Canyon lying halfway between Philadelphia to the west and the Atlantic coast to the east.
The area had been under a severe drought until recently, when early spring rains helped dampen the region.
Chopper 6: Crews battling raging wildfire in Ocean County
So far in 2025, New Jersey is at 662 wildfires with 16,572 acres burned.
The site of the fire is near an alpaca farm. The farm said in a Facebook post that the property wasn’t threatened and all of the animals were safe.
The blaze is the second major forest fire in the region in less than a week. The Vineland Wildfire in Cumberland County stands at 1,327 acres burned and is 80% contained, fire officials said during Wednesday’s 11 a.m. update.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
