The Brief
- The Jones Road fire in Ocean County is one of the largest wildfires in the last 20 years in New Jersey.
- More than 13,500 acres have been scorched in the Pine Barrens.
- The fire is 50% contained but could burn for days.
OCEAN TWP., N.J.
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One of the largest wildfires New Jersey has seen in decades continued to burn in Ocean County Wednesday night.
The Jones Road fire has burned more than 13,000 acres and is 50% contained.
What we know
Firefighters continued to douse hotspots as a cloud of thick smoke hovered over the New Jersey Pine Barrens.
Fueled by whipping winds and dry conditions, what started as just a 10-acre fire on Tuesday quickly grew to more than 10,000 acres in just hours.
“The fire started and as you all know grew rapidly spread and we tried to stop it eventually made some success there” said Trevor Raynor of the New Jersey Forest Fire Service.
Evacuation orders for more than 5,000 residents in Lacey and Barnegat Townships were lifted Wednesday morning as firefighters made progress by setting back burns to reduce the dead underbrush fueling the fire.
The fire destroyed a warehouse owned by Liberty Door and Awning. The company’s president says more than $2 million worth of supplies and equipment was destroyed in the fire.
What they’re saying
“LA and everything that happened out there. You think wow. It’s on the other side of the country. Suff like that doesn’t happen to us. And here I am not only happened to our neighborhood but I happened to my building” said company president Bob Nasti.
As fire-weary crews have been working around the clock, they found a bit of relief.
Toms River resident Chris Lyle helped organize a donation drive for first responders.
He enlisted local businesses was delivering sandwiches, pizzas and drinks to the first responders working the fire lines.
He’s helped raise over $5,000 in donations to help out firefighters on the ground.
He says it’s a small thank you for what’s been a dangerous and tiring two days.
“It’s 80 degrees out. It was 80 degrees yesterday. They are battling a huge fire. Somebody needs to do something to give back to these guys. Most of them are volunteers” said Lyle.
What’s next
Fire crews will be scaling back operations tonight. They are confident the 18 structures still being threatened are safe.
What they are really looking for is some rain to help. But so far none is in the forecast until Saturday.
The Source
The information in this story is from NJ Forest Fire Service officials and Ocean County residents.
