By NBC News:
A 19-year-old from Ocean Township, New Jersey, is accused of starting a massive wildfire that prompted thousands of evacuations, burned around 15,000 acres and destroyed a commercial building.
Joseph Kling was arrested and charged with aggravated arson and arson, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office said Thursday. The fire, named theJones Road Wildfire, erupted Tuesday in Waretown and has spread throughout the southern Ocean County area.
Prosecutors accused Kling of setting wooden pallets on fire and then leaving the area without ensuring that the fire was fully extinguished.
As of Thursday morning, it was 50% contained. There have been no reports of deaths or loss of homes.
The Cedar Bridge Fire Tower located a plume of smoke coming from the area of Jones Road and Bryant Road in Ocean Township just before 10 a.m. on Tuesday. Emergency personnel observed a fire within the Ocean County Natural Lands Trust’s Forked River Mountains Wilderness Area.
On Wednesday, acting New Jersey Gov. Tahesha Way declared a state of emergency. Fire officials and Shawn M. LaTourette, state commissioner of environmental protection, have said that the fire is expected to burn for a couple more days.
LaTourette said it could end up being the biggest wildfire in the state in 20 years.
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