The Jones Road Wildfire in Ocean County, New Jersey is approximately 30% contained after burning through 11,500 acres, according to the latest update from the New Jersey Forest Fire Service.
One commercial building and several vehicles have been destroyed, and 20 structures are still at risk, the state fire service says. So far, no injuries have been reported.
“Thanks to the incredible, heroic work of the good men and women of our New Jersey Forest Fire Service, folks homes and lives have been saved, and we’ve truly averted a major disaster,” New Jersey Forest Fire Service Commissioner Shawn LaTourette said Wednesday morning. “This wildfire is not under full and complete control, we still have a lot of work to do to achieve complete containment of the wildfire. But there were 1,300 homes that were threatened during the course of fighting this fire.”
“Not one single single-family home was damaged, not one person was injured, there has not been one loss of life,” Lacey Township Mayor Peter Curatolo added, thanking fellow officials and first responders.
The fire service commissioner said he expects the acreage to grow as they work toward containment, saying, “this could very well end up being the largest wildfire in New Jersey in 20 years.”
“As many folks here know, we’ve been under continuing dry conditions, particularly in the southern part of the state, and those dry conditions have very much influenced this fire,” said LaTourette, adding the cause remains under investigation.
New Jersey Forest Fire Service Chief Bill Donnelly said the state saw 310 wildfires this time last year, compared to 662 for the same period this year.
“Everyone knows that we were coming off a really busy fall, we got to see you guys quite a bit back in October and November,” Donnelly said. “Other than that little holiday break that we had there, our folks have been in it nonstop.”
New Jersey’s acting Gov. Tahesha Way has declared a state of emergency for Ocean County, which took effect at 7 a.m. Wednesday.
“Yesterday, our State Forest Fire Service informed us of a wildfire in Ocean Township, Ocean County. Due to its accelerated growth, with an estimated burn of 8,500 acres, threatening more than 1,000 structures, requiring the evacuation of residents in the area, and the loss of power to over 25,000 residents, I am declaring a State of Emergency for Ocean County,” Way said in a statement. “I encourage all residents in the County to continue to monitor the proper channels, and to use caution and follow all safety protocols.”
Mandatory and voluntary evacuations for some 5,000 residents in Ocean and Lacey townships were lifted early Wednesday morning, and the Garden State Parkway and Route 9 also reopened.
“Going forward, what’s our plan? Our plan is to get people back home, get roads reopened and knock that smoke down,” said Trevor Raynor, with the New Jersey Forest Fire Service. “So we’re going to do that through mop up and patrol. We’ve got approximately 100 firefighters on the fire line today, and they’re out there working really hard, squirting water along the parkway so there’s no smoke on that morning commute or evening commute.
“They’re putting out stumps and logs around homes so that there’s no smoke, and they can open their windows, and their homes are safe and they feel safe,” he continued. “We understand that evacuations are very disruptive, we’d like to thank the public for being understanding and patient with us.”
Forecast maps show the smoke that is now billowing across South Jersey could blow into the New York City area in the coming days.
Jones Road Wildfire breaks out in Barnegat
The massive, rapidly growing fire started around 10 a.m. Tuesday in the Greenwood Forest Wildlife Management Area of Barnegat Township. It forced the evacuation of thousands of residents and shut down several major roads, including a swath of the Garden State Parkway between exits 63 and 74.
“The wildfire was about 10 to 20 acres upon arrival. We had resources there quickly, we dispatched aircraft. Even with a big show of force to contain this fire, it grew to be a large wildfire,” Raynor explained Wednesday.
Around 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jersey Central Power & Light turned off power to roughly 25,000 homes and businesses in the area to protect firefighters as they battled the flames.
“That includes pretty much all of our customers in Barnegat and Ocean townships, as well as about three quarters of our customers in Lacey,” one JCP&L official said Wednesday. “This morning, we were cleared to begin our damage assessments. Our crews have been out since early this morning surveying our lines, checking our poles, our wires, our devices to see what can handle power, what damage there is. And we will begin the restoration process as those surveys are completed.”
JCP&L expects to restore power to approximately 6,700 customers in Lacey by Wednesday afternoon, though the timetable remains to be seen for the other townships.
In the meantime, the Red Cross has set up shelters at Southern Regional High School in Manahawkin and Manchester Township High School in Manchester.
The Lacey Township mayor said he also opened a makeshift shelter after learning a senior center was inside the mandatory evacuation zone, but the shelter had no power, nurses or emergency supplies. He was eventually able to load the seniors onto a bus and take them to the Manchester location instead.
The New Jersey Forest Fire Service says it will provide another update around 3 p.m.
