A massive wildfire in Ocean County, New Jersey, has forced thousands of evacuations and shut down several roads, officials said.
A wildfire spanning 8,500 acres has been burning since Tuesday afternoon. About 1,300 structures have been threatened from the fires and numerous neighborhoods have been evacuated, officials say. NBC10’s Shaira Arias and Aaron Baskerville have the details of this raging fire. NBC10’s First Alert Weather meteorologist Robert Johnson shows how the wind patterns are playing a crucial part in fighting these wildfires.
Fire officials first alerted residents through social media about the fire in Barnegat Township at 12:22 p.m. on Tuesday.
As of 11 p.m., the “Jones Wildfire” burned 8,500 acres, threatened 1,320 structures, forced 3,000 evacuations in Ocean and Lacey townships and shut down the following roads:
- Garden State Parkway between Barnegat and Lacey roads
- Rt. 532 (Wells Mills Road) between Rt. 72 and the Garden State Parkway
- Bryant Road between Wells Mills Road (Rt. 532) and Rt. 539
- Jones Road between Rt. 532 and Bryant Road
- Route 9 from Lakeside Drive to Route 532 in both directions
- various roads that are considered secondary and tertiary, according to the NJ Forest Fire Service
The fire is currently just 10% contained, officials said.
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The Garden State Parkway is expected to remain closed until midnight on Tuesday, the Barnegat Police Department said. The parkway remains open northbound from Exit 74 and north as well as southbound from Exit 69 and south.
A large response has been dispatched to fight the fire. Resources include forest fire service fire engines, bulldozers, ground crews, a helicopter capable of dropping 300 gallons of water, another helicopter for observation, and a contact air tanker capable of dropping 600 gallons of water.
“We’re up against it. This is historic. There’s been nothing like this in our township in recent memory,” Lacey Township Mayor Peter Curatolo said Tuesday night.
Officials are warning residents that there is an increased amount of smoke in the air and are urging anyone on the roads to drive carefully due to the lack of visibility.
According to the New Jersey Forest Fire Service, several shelters are available for evacuated residents and their pets.
Barnegat Township evacuations
The Barnegat Police Department took to Facebook on Tuesday afternoon to announce that shelter is available to any residents who have evacuated is located at Southern Regional High School located at 105 Cedar Bridge Road in Manahawkin.
Pheasant Run Barnegat is under a voluntary evacuation with Pheasant Run in Lacey Township under mandatory evacuation.
In an 11 p.m. update, officials said that the wildfire moved out of the area, but there is still no power.
Residents were seen helping neighbors evacuate their horses from a nearby farm. They spoke with NBC10 as they walked two of the horses down the road.
“Someone posted on Facebook that they needed help evacuating their horses, so we took our horse trailer down and got the rest of them out,” Leslie Lord DiFrancia explained. “It’s nerve-wracking. These horses are our family.”
Lacey Township evacuations
Anyone living in South Barnegat Pines south of Lakeside Drive and the Beach Boulevard area from Route 9 to the Lacey Elks are under a mandatory evacuation. This is includes Clune Park, Orlando Drive, Sandy Hook Dr., Clubhouse Dr. and all roads in between, according to the Lacey Township Police Department.
Any residents who had to evacuate because of the wildfire are being told to go to Manchester Township High School at 101 Hawks Way in Manchester.
Residents were previously allowed to go to the Charles Smith Community Center, but are being diverted to the high school because the center lost power, according to the township’s police department.
“We’re under a voluntary evacuation order. We are packed and ready to go. We have about 40 animals so we don’t want to move unless we have to,” neighbor Matt Vogel said.
Lacey Township Mayor Peter Curatolo confirmed that at least one structure was destroyed in the industrial park on the south part of the town. SkyForce10 was over the scene earlier on Tuesday.
SkyForce10 was over the neighborhood as miles-worth of cars were backed up in traffic.
The wildfire caused all sorts of headaches for drivers trying to get home Tuesday night as firefighters worked to control the flames.
“Chaotic, traffic, can’t get nowhere, been stuck in traffic for 3 hours,” driver Jake Willis told NBC10.
On Lacey Road, officers guarded the entrance ramp south on the Garden State Parkway near Exit 74. In the distance, crews stood watch over the flames.
Farther down the road in Lacey Township, areas looked like ghost towns.
Thousands of customers in Ocean County are without power as crews work to stop the wildfire on Tuesday night, according to Jersey Central Power and Light.
- Barnegat Township: 8,653 customers without power
- Berkeley Township: 742 customers without power
- Lacey Township: 10,716 customers without power
- Ocean Township: 5,300 customers without power
The Barnegat Police Department said “the status of the power grid in the area of the Oyster Creek nuclear plant is unknown,” at this time so power outages may linger because of damaged power lines and transformers.
Approximately 25,000 JCP&L customers are affected by this forced outage, and we do not anticipate restoring power tonight. We will work to restore power to customers as we are safely able, including through tying areas to neighboring lines where safe and possible.
— JCP&L (@JCP_L) April 23, 2025
JCP&L reported that they do not expect to restore power Tuesday night.
No injuries have been reported. The fire is currently under investigation.
This story is developing. Check back for updates.
