A fast-moving wildfire in Ocean County, New Jersey, has scorched more than 8,500 acres, forced thousands of residents to flee, and triggered a state of emergency as flames threatened over 1,300 structures and temporarily shut down the Garden State Parkway.
The Jones Road Wildfire, which erupted Tuesday near Toms River, quickly spread due to high winds and dry vegetation, according to the New Jersey Forest Fire Service. The fire was only 10% contained as of Wednesday morning.
Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way, acting as governor while Gov. Phil Murphy is abroad, declared a state of emergency on Wednesday. "Due to its accelerated growth, with an estimated burn of 8,500 acres, threatening more than 1,000 structures, requiring the evacuation of residents in the area, and the loss of power to over 25,000 residents, I am declaring a State of Emergency for Ocean County," she said.
The fire jumped the Garden State Parkway Tuesday evening, leading officials to shut down a seven-mile stretch of one of the state's busiest highways. It reopened Wednesday morning, as did evacuation orders affecting more than 3,000 residents in Ocean and Lacey Townships.
"I hope that I have a home to return back to," one evacuee told ABC News. Another displaced resident, Michael Ferrara, described a harrowing decision to leave: "It was kind of scary... What are you going to take with you - birth certificates, passports? It's just a very eerie feeling."
The blaze prompted Jersey Central Power & Light to cut electricity to more than 25,000 customers in Barnegat and surrounding townships at the request of firefighting command. The utility said it did not expect power restoration until Wednesday.
Although fire officials began lifting some evacuation notices Wednesday, they urged residents to remain alert. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
This is the second significant wildfire to hit the Pine Barrens region in less than a week. The 1.1 million-acre protected forest, stretching between Philadelphia and the Atlantic coast, had experienced a prolonged drought before recent spring rains.
