A spark from burning pallets in New Jersey's Pine Barrens has unleashed a wildfire, with smoke drifting as far as New York City and Long Island, prompting evacuations and raising air quality alarms. The blaze was sparked when a 19-year-old man from Waretown set fire to wooden pallets and failed to extinguish them properly, authorities said Thursday, per the AP. Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer and state Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn LaTourette announced that the man, identified by PIX11 as Joseph Kling, faces aggravated arson and arson charges.
Kling is being held in Ocean County Jail in advance of a detention hearing. The fire had spread to more than 23 square miles as of Thursday, or around 15,000 acres. Authorities said the wildfire is the second-worst in New Jersey in the last two decades, exceeded only by a 2007 blaze that scorched 26 square miles. The fire has destroyed one commercial building and multiple vehicles, and a dozen structures remained threatened as of Wednesday evening. No injuries have been reported.
Officials said 5,000 residents in southern New Jersey were evacuated but have since been allowed to return home. More than 25,000 locals also lost power, which has been restored. Acting New Jersey Gov. Tahesha Way declared a state of emergency on Wednesday, at which point about 50% of the wildfire had been contained, according to officials. Emergency personnel will remain at the site, about 55 miles south of New York City, for several days. "New Jersey has some of the most volatile wildland fire fuels in the entire country," says New Jersey Forest Fire Service Chief Bill Donnelly, per the Asbury Park Press.
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"Everybody's used to seeing California and things like that, that chaparral that burns up the hills and goes crazy," he continues. "These Pine Barrens out here are the exact same type of fuel model. They're just like having napalm spread across the ground." Smoke from the blaze created air quality concerns, with advisories issued for New York City, Rockland and Westchester counties, and Long Island's Nassau and Suffolk counties. New York's state Department of Environmental Conservation advised people to head indoors to reduce exposure to smoke and related symptoms such as eye, nose, and throat irritation, coughing, sneezing, and shortness of breath. (This content was created with the help of AI. Read our AI policy.)
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