Firefighters are making progress with the wildfire in the Pine Barrens section of southern Ocean County.

Some 50% of the fire has been contained, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service said Wednesday afternoon.

But the destruction has only grown. What the forest fire service is calling the Jones Road Wildfire has consumed some 13,500 acres.

Shawn LaTourette, Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, which oversees the state forest fire service, said at a news conference that the damage is expected to spread, but in uninhabited forest areas.

“We’ve truly averted a major disaster,” he said.

Earlier, Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way declared a state of emergency for southern Ocean County.

LaTourette said the fire was “throwing itself” and creating “spot” fires.

“From the main fire on the west side of the parkway, winds were carrying embers that landed in another spot, creating a flanking fire,” he said.

This area of New Jersey is within a “wildland urban interface” that leads to risk, LaTourette said.

New Jersey Forest Fire Service Chief Bill Donnelly said the 2007 “Warren Grove” fire in this area burned 17,000 acres, for comparison.

Since last October, Donnelly said the season has been active for wildfire.

Last year this time, there were 310 wildfires that burned 315 acres across New Jersey. This year so far, 662 wildfires have burned 16,572 acres across the state, Donnelly said.

“Other than that little holiday break we had there, our folks have been in it nonstop,” he said.

Rescue response

Donnelly said fire crews from across the state – from Camden, Burlington, Gloucester, Ocean and Monmouth counties – came to the aid of the affected towns.

“I would say it was hundreds of fire trucks, without a doubt here, everywhere you look, there were resources from counties throughout southern New Jersey,” he said.

The fire may continue to burn until rain drenches the area, likely on Friday night or Saturday, he said.

“New Jersey has some of the most volatile wildland fire fuels in the entire country,” Donnelly said at an afternoon news conference. “Everybody’s used to seeing California and things like that, that chaparral that burns up the hills and goes crazy. These Pine Barrens out here are the exact same type of fuel model. They’re just like having napalm spread across the ground.”

Napalm, famous for its use by the United States as a defoliant in the Vietnam War, is a highly flammable gel-like fluid.

The fire now ranks as one of the worst forest fires in southern Ocean County history. The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the wildland investigation taskforce, which is composed of police, the Ocean County Fire Marshal, the forest fire service and the Ocean County Prosector’s Office.

The fire started in an area where there is little infrastructure and no campgrounds, officials said.

History of Wildfires: A history at significant Ocean County wildfires, including the Jones Road fire

Evacuations have been lifted for the roughly 5,000 residents evacuated on April 22 in Lacey and Ocean Townships, the forest fire service reported.

The Garden State Parkway and Route 9, parts of which were closed Tuesday, have since reopened.

Roads reopen: Garden State Parkway, Route 9 reopen in Ocean County after fire closures

The wildfire on Tuesday threatened 1,320 homes and buildings, officials said. At 7 p.m. Wednesday, that number stood at 12.

Trevor Raynor, a division forest fire warden, said the Jones Road fire was reported at 9:45 a.m. Tuesday and started with a blaze that spread across 10 to 20 acres. However, the fire quickly grew out of control due to a mixture of wind, low humidity and ongoing drought in southern New Jersey.

Officials said it was first spotted from a fire tower.

“We aren’t out of the woods yet,” said Raynor. “Our plan is to get people back home, get roads reopened, and knock that smoke down.”

Firefighters are focused on suppressing embers around homes, burning fuel ahead of the fire to starve it, and making sure smoke stays minimal along the parkway, he said.

“Even if we are successful at stopping the main fire, there are still embers,” Raynor said at the afternoon news conference. “They rain down, shower down on homes and mulch beds and firewood stacked near homes and decks and docks and tarps and boat covers and trailers and unimproved property. So where all those embers land, firefighters put those embers out.”

Power outage update

As of 5 p.m., all but about 2,600 Jersey Central Power & Light customers in southern Ocean County were without power, according to the electric company that serves much of the Jersey Shore.

Christopher Hoenig, a spokesperson for JCP&L, said that the power company de-energized high voltage lines around the defunct Oyster Creek Nuclear Power Plant to protect the safety of firefighters in the area. As a result, about 25,000 customers were initially without power, he said.

Power crews were assessing damage to lines throughout the area on Wednesday and working to restore service, he said.

“Safety is a top priority for us. So this restoration process and the timing of restorations are built entirely around safety. We need to make sure our system is safe,” he said.

He urged affected customers to text “REG” to 544487 (LIGHTS) for updates.

Power was quickly being restored by Wednesday afternoon.

Police in Waretown said in an alert at 4:50 p.m. that all residents there were again with power.

Lacey Mayor Peter Curatola reported no homes were destroyed in the fire and no injuries were reported. Three buildings in the township’s industrial park did catch fire, with one lost, he said.

Property damage from the fire

So far, one commercial building and several outbuildings and vehicles have been destroyed. A complete assessment of all the damage is being done.

Roads impacted by the wildfire

While major roadways have opened, other roads remain closed. Avoid the following roads.

• Rt. 532 (Wells Mills Road) between Rt. 72 and the Garden State Parkway
• Bryant Road is closed between Wells Mills Road (Rt. 532) and Rt. 539
• Jones Road is closed between Rt. 532 and Bryant Road

More: NJ wildfire: Advocates search for homeless people living in woods as fire rages

Route 532 was expected to be reopened soon, officials said about 4:15 p.m. Wednesday.

Earlier this year, the Department of Environmental Protection launched a program called NJ Wildfire SMART that encourages property owners to take actions that will reduce their risks from wildfire.

“There’s no one silver bullet,” LaTourette said. “It’s a network of strategies, a network of solutions that that need to be pursued concertedly and across every level of government.”

Ocean County takes fire suppression very seriously, LaTourette said. Ocean County was under an Air Quality Alert on Wednesday due to soot and particulate pollution from the fire.

Barnegat was handing out free N95 masks at its recreation center.

Check back for updates on this developing story.

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