CHATSWORTH, New Jersey (WABC) — A 19-year-old has been charged with aggravated arson for allegedly setting a bonfire and leaving the area without properly extinguishing it, causing the more than 10,000-acre Jones Road fire in New Jersey.
Joseph Kling, 19, of Ocean Township, is charged with arson and aggravated arson in connection to the fire that started in Waretown.
In a criminal complaint filed in the case, authorities alleged that Kling “did purposely start the fire with the purpose of destroying or damaging any forest, specifically by lighting a bonfire off Jones Road in Waretown … and leaving it unattended causing a wildfire.”
The complaint goes on to accuse Kling of “recklessly placing a building or structure” in danger of damage or destruction.
Kling was booked at the Ocean County Jail, where he is presently lodged pending a detention hearing.
It comes as the fire continues to burn Thursday as dry conditions, winds, and low humidity fuel the wildfire. The New Jersey Forest Fire Service reported that the wildfire burned more than 13,000 acres and is 50% contained.
With the fire ongoing and winds shifting north, some of the wildfire smoke will make it to the New York City area and Long Island on Thursday.
Air Quality Alerts are in effect until midnight Thursday night from the elevated pollution levels the smoke will bring, which could be dangerous for people with high sensitivity.
Air Quality Tracker: Check your local air quality HERE
Authorities say this is not as intense as the wildfire smoke from Canadian wildfires back in 2023, but it can still be dangerous for highly sensitive groups.
So far, the wildfire has not resulted in any injuries, officials said, though it’s expected to grow before forecast rain later this week.
The fire in southern New Jersey’s Lacey and Ocean townships has grown to more than 20 square miles and could continue to burn for days, officials said. Some 5,000 residents were evacuated, but have been permitted to return home. A single commercial building and some vehicles were destroyed in the fire, while 12 structures remained threatened Wednesday evening.
“This is still a very active fire,” said Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn LaTourette. “As we continue to get this under full control the expectation is that the number of acres will grow and will grow in a place that is unpopulated.”
Officials said the fire is believed to be the second-worst in the last two decades, smaller only than a 2007 blaze that burned 26 square miles.
The Garden State Parkway, one of New Jersey’s busiest highways, reopened Wednesday morning after officials closed a roughly 7-mile stretch in the southern part of the state.
Acting Gov. Tahesha Way declared a state of emergency early Wednesday.
Video released by the state agency overseeing the fire service showed billowing white and black clouds of smoke, intense flames engulfing pines and firefighters dousing a charred structure.
Forest fires are a common occurrence in the Pine Barrens, a 1.1 million-acre state and federally protected reserve about the size of the Grand Canyon lying halfway between Philadelphia to the west and the Atlantic coast to the east. The region, with its quick-draining sandy soil, is in peak forest fire season. The trees are still developing leaves, humidity remains low and winds can kick up, drying out the forest floor.
It’s a vast wilderness in the country’s most densely populated state. LaTourette, the DEP commissioner, said the fire is straddling an area on the edge of wilderness and residential areas.
“It’s the interface where the environment and development meet,” he said.
The area had been under a severe drought until recently, when early spring rains helped dampen the region, but officials cautioned recent low humidity and a dry stretch have heightened the risk of fire.
The site of the fire is near an alpaca farm. The farm said in a Facebook post that the property wasn’t threatened and all of the animals were safe.
The blaze is the second major forest fire in the region in less than a week.
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ABC News and The Associated Press contributed to this report
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