Ocean County, N.J. wildfire on pace to be the largest in nearly 20 years, is 50% contained but could burn for a few days

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Officials are now focusing on helping evacuated residents return to their homes as a wildfire in Ocean County, New Jersey, continues to burn.

As of Wednesday night, the Jones Road Wildfire is 50% contained and is 12,500 acres in size, officials said. It is on pace to be the largest fire in the Garden State in nearly two decades. Evacuation orders affecting about 5,000 residents have been completely lifted as of 6:30 a.m. Wednesday.

“We’ve got approximately 100 firefighters on the fire line today, and they’re out there working really hard,” said Trevor Raynor, a division forest fire warden with the New Jersey Forest Fire Service. “[They’re] squirting out water along the [Garden State] Parkway so there’s no smoke on that morning commute or evening commute, they’re putting out stumps and logs around homes so that there’s no smoke and they can open their windows and their homes are safe and they feel safe.”

Jersey Central Power and Light said power has been restored Wednesday evening to all affected customers. The utility cut power at the height of the fire to their Oyster Creek substation, affecting approximately 25,000 customers in Barnegat, Lacey and Ocean townships.

Christopher Hoenig, spokesman for JCP&L, explained that cutting power, particularly around high voltage lines that have a clearance field around them, was to ensure firefighters are “able to operate and do everything they need to do to prioritize the suppression of the fire without worrying about the lines that are there.”

The Garden State Parkway and U.S. Route 9 remains open in both directions, but Route 532 between Route 72 and the Garden State Parkway remains closed. Other affected roads include Bryant Road between Route 530 and Route 532, and Jones Road between Bryant Road and Route 532.

Officials still don’t know what caused the fire and the investigation is ongoing. They encouraged residents to follow the Forest Fire Service’s social media feeds for the latest update.

State Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn LaTourette said the fire is expected to grow as it consumes unpopulated forested areas west of the parkway, possibly rivaling a 2007 fire that ultimately burned more that 17,000 acres, destroyed four homes and forced the evacuation of about 2,500 people. That blaze was sparked by a flare used during a military exercise at the Warren Grove Gunnery Range.

LaTourette said the southern half of New Jersey has been hit hard by drought conditions despite recent rains.

“They’ve helped restore some reservoir and stream flows that we need for drinking water, but it hasn’t solved for the dryness that has characterized this area and worsened in recent years,” he said.

The fire is expected to burn for at least the next couple of days, when rain is predicted to pass through the area Friday night into Saturday.

“If that does, in fact, hold true, I tend to believe that we should have this fire contained by the weekend, as long as we get the precipitation that’s forecasted,” said William J. Donnelly, chief of the state Forest Fire Service.

New Jersey acting Gov. Tahesha Way declared a state of emergency due to the ongoing Jones Road wildfire burning near Lacey, Ocean and Barnegat townships in Ocean County.

The declaration went into effect at 7 a.m. Wednesday.

The active fire was moved west of Route 9 and the Garden State Parkway away from residential areas, according to LaTourette. He also warned about air quality in the area.

“Particulate matter is of concern and folks should take precautions, particularly if you’re among a vulnerable population,” he said. “We need to make sure that their windows are closed and that they’re keeping themselves safe.”

The American Red Cross said they remain on standby should there be a need for emergency shelters. About 300 people on Tuesday utilized shelters they established at Manchester and Southern Regional high schools. Kimberly Goetz, executive director of American Red Cross of Central New Jersey, said they’ve also met specific requests from emergency officials.

“We are going to be doing some staging of both water and some emergency supplies like dust masks in some specific communities,” she said.