TOMS RIVER, NJ – Authorities in New Jersey arrested and charged a man with arson for causing a fast-growing wildfire that has consumed thousands of acres in the central part of the state.

Joseph Kling, 19, of Ocean Township was charged with aggravated arson and arson for the Jones Road wildfire, which has burned 15,000 acres and was 50% contained as of April 24. The fire erupted on April 22 after officials said Kling lit a bonfire of wooden pallets and left without extinguishing it properly.

Though no injuries have been reported from the wildfire, it destroyed a commercial building and multiple other outbuildings and vehicles, according to the New Jersey Forest Fire Service. About 5,000 residents who evacuated have since been allowed to return home, while authorities predict the fire will keep spreading until the area gets a soaking rain.

At about 9:45 a.m. on April 22, the Cedar Bridge Fire Tower located a column of smoke coming from the area of Jones Road and Bryant Road in Ocean Township, authorities said. There, emergency personnel saw a fire within the Ocean County Natural Lands Trust’s Forked River Mountains Wilderness Area, which is on the east side of Jones Road.

An investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit-Arson Squad, New Jersey Forest Fire Service, Ocean County Fire Marshal’s Office and New Jersey State Fire Marshal’s Office plotted the origin of the fire via GPS, officials said.

Kling was taken into custody at Ocean Township Police Headquarters and then transferred to Ocean County Jail, pending a detention hearing.

Jones Road wildfire causing air quality issues as far as NYC

Heavy smoke from the wildfire was affecting visibility in neighboring townships, and authorities warned residents to drive cautiously. Some 60 miles away, authorities in New York issued air quality alerts on April 24 because the traveling smoke was making the air unhealthy for sensitive groups.

The alert covered Manhattan along with the Bronx, Kings, Queens, Richmond, Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester and Rockland.

Residents in New York will be able to see and smell the smoke from New Jersey, officials said.

More: Air quality alert issued for NYC over drifting smoke from New Jersey wildfire