A forest fire that broke out in a residential area of Barnegat on Tuesday afternoon has now spread to more than 1,200 acres and has closed a portion of the Garden State Parkway, officials said.
The blaze is burning in the Greenwood Forest Wildlife Management Area in Barnegat, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service said in a statement. Many single family homes are surrounded by the large forest in the Jersey Shore neighborhood.
The north and southbound lanes of the Garden State Parkway were closed between Exit 63 in Stafford Township and Exit 80 in South Toms River shortly after 5 p.m., the NJ Turnpike Authority said. The agency did not say when the Parkway would reopen.
New Jersey remains in a drought and wind gusts reached 25 miles per hour helping the rapid spread of the fire Tuesday afternoon, officials with the National Weather Service said.
The section of the Pine Barrens where the fire, dubbed the Jones Road Wildfire by investigators, started is dry, but there was no elevated risk of wildfire, the National Weather Service said.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
The New Jersey Forest Fire Service had scheduled a news conference for 8 p.m. to provide updates but it was cancelled due to the “rapidly evolving nature” of the blaze. The press conference was likely going to be rescheduled for Wednesday morning.
The fire, which is zero percent contained, is currently threatening 16 structures along Bryant Road and Wells Mills Road, officials said. Mandatory evacuations were ordered for those structures just before 3:30 p.m. on Wells Mills Road between Bryant Road and Garden State Parkway in Ocean Township.
The Barnegat Police Department also announced voluntary evacuations in the neighborhoods of Windward, Mirage, Pheasant Run, Heritage Point North, Brookville and all houses on West Bay Avenue.
“As the fire continues north, there is no immediate threat to Barnegat Township,” the department wrote on its Facebook page. “However we ask you to be prepared in case of a change in direction.”
The department added that any residents who were asked to evacuate could take shelter at Southern Regional High School. Pets are also welcome.
According to Lacey Township police, the fire crossed over Route 9 in Forked River which has led to mandatory evacuations in town.
A mandatory evacuation was issued for for the Pheasant Run Community and the southern section of the Barnegat Pines south of Lakeside Drive South near the northbound lanes of the Garden State Parkway. Evacuations were also issued in town for Beach Boulevard and the surrounding areas of Clune Park including South River Drive, Sandy Hook Drive and Orlando Drive.
Lacey Township residents who need a place to go can shelter at Manchester Township High School, the department said.
Jones Wildfire
The fire has also forced the following road closures: Wells Mills Road between Route 72 and the Parkway, Bryant Road between Wells Mills Road and Route 539 and Jones Road between Route 532 and Bryant Road.
In the nearby Stafford Township, all parkway entrances and exits were shut but as of 7 p.m., there were no voluntary or mandatory evacuations in town, police said.
The Ocean Township Police Department said on its Facebook page that the Garden State Parkway Southbound is open for evacuation traffic at exit 69.
There were over 25,000 power outages reported in Barnegat, Lacey and Berkeley, with nearly 1,400 in Barnegat alone, according to JCP&L.
Garden Parkway traffic cameras near Exit 40 in Absecon shows a constant flow of fire trucks and other emergency equipment.
Containment efforts include backfiring operations, use of an air tanker capable of dropping 600 gallons of water and a helicopter capable of dropping 300 gallons of water, officials said.
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Nicolas Fernandes may be reached at [email protected].
