Firefighters make progress as New Jersey wildfire burns over 13K acres
Editor's Note: Click here for the latest update on the New Jersey wildfire for Thursday, April 24.
LACEY, NJ – Firefighters have made progress containing a massive wildfire burning in central New Jersey that threatened to become the largest blaze in the state in nearly 20 years, officials said.
The fire, named the Jones Road wildfire, erupted the morning of April 22 in southern Ocean County. As of 8 p.m. on April 23, it had consumed 13,250 acres, and firefighters had achieved 50% containment, according to the New Jersey Forest Fire Service.
The wildfire has previously threatened 1,320 homes and buildings, officials said. By 8 p.m. on April 23, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service reported that a single commercial building and multiple vehicles were destroyed in the fire, while 12 structures remained threatened.
Shawn LaTourette, Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, which oversees the state forest fire service, said the damage is expected to spread, but in uninhabited forest areas.
“We've truly averted a major disaster,” LaTourette said at a news conference.
All evacuation orders were lifted for the about 5,000 residents who fled the fire in Ocean and Lacey townships, the fire service said on April 23. The Garden State Parkway and Route 9, parts of which were previously closed, have since reopened.
Earlier, Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way declared a state of emergency for southern Ocean County due to the fire's "accelerated growth."
Embers from the fire sparked several small blazes near a decommissioned Oyster Creek nuclear power plant in Waretown, according to state officials. The plant, owned by Holtec International, shut down in 2018.
The wildfire was no longer threatening populated areas but a "soaking rainfall" is needed to stop the fire, officials warned. The cause of the fire was under investigation.
'It wasn’t bad until I saw the flames'
The blaze could become the largest in New Jersey in about 20 years, LaTourette said during a news conference. A fire in May 2007 in the same area consumed 17,000 acres.
In Lacey Township, the fire ignited three buildings in the industrial park, including one that was deemed a total loss, Mayor Peter Curatolo said. Earlier, about 35 members of an age-restricted living community were evacuated to a shelter, Curatolo said.
Dawn Kramer of Lacey told the Asbury Park Press, part of the Paste BN Network, that as the fire spread, the smoke got worse and the sirens louder. She didn’t decide to evacuate until she started to see the glow from the blaze.
“It wasn’t bad until I saw the flames,” Kramer said. “Then it got real.”
Kramer packed up her important papers and gathered up her daughter, two cats and three dogs. She then headed to her mother’s house in Little Egg Harbor Township about 20 miles away.
Kramer said there was so much smoke, she couldn’t see the Garden State Parkway as she drove past.
New Jersey wildfire map: Where is Jones Road fire burning?
The fire is located near Ocean and Lacey Townships in Ocean County, New Jersey, according to the Forest Fire Service. It is near the state's east coast.
The fire caused major roads to close temporarily. A stretch of the Garden State Parkway and Route 9 reopened on April 23, the Lacey Township Police Department said.
Power outage update
As of 5 p.m., all but about 2,600 Jersey Central Power & Light customers in southern Ocean County were without power, according to the electric company that serves much of the Jersey Shore.
Christopher Hoenig, a spokesperson for Jersey Central Power & Light, said that the power company de-energized high-voltage lines around the defunct Oyster Creek Nuclear Power Plant to protect the safety of firefighters in the area. As a result, about 25,000 customers were initially without power, he added.
Power crews were assessing damage to lines throughout the area on Wednesday and working to restore service, he confirmed.
"Safety is a top priority for us. So this restoration process and the timing of restorations are built entirely around safety. We need to make sure our system is safe,” he said.
"This is for the safety of crews battling the fire," the utilities company said.
Police in Waretown said in an alert at 4:50 p.m. that all residents there were again with power.
Contributing: Anthony Robledo, Paste BN; Ken Serrano, Erik Larsen, and Lisa Robyn Kruse, Asbury Park Press; Reuters