WARETOWN ― One of the worst wildfires in southern Ocean County history has more than doubled in size, scorching 8,500 acres, forcing the evacuation of some 3,000 people, and threatening 1,320 homes and buildings, officials said.

The Jones Road wildfire, which began in the Pine Barrens near the Barnegat-Waretown municipal boundary shortly after 10 a.m. Tuesday, moved northward into Lacey by the evening hours, forcing the closure of the Garden State Parkway in that same area, as flames were seen along the grassy areas near the roadway and into the woods.

More than 23,000 Jersey Central Power & Light customers in Barnegat and Waretown are without power, according to the electric company that serves much of the Jersey Shore. JCP&L had cut electricity from the Oyster Creek substation at the request of the Forest Service for the safety of fire crews.

The New Jersey Forest Fire Service issued an update at 10:30 p.m. saying that the wildfire had consumed an additional 5,300 acres during the evening hours, more than doubling in size to 8,500 acres. The fire, which is concentrated in Waretown and Lacey, is only 10 percent contained, officials said.

Lacey Mayor Peter Curatola said three structures in the township’s industrial park caught on fire, and one of the buildings was lost.

In addition to the glowing flames and smoke that could be seen in the distance, the power outage that occurred just after 6 p.m. added to a sense of alarm and uncertainty. Waretown and Barnegat fell eerily silent, except for the steady wail of sirens in the distance. The air was filled with the acrid smell of smoke, as the skies darkened from the haze.

Dawn Kramer of Lacey said that as the fire spread throughout the day, the smoke got worse and the sirens louder. She didn’t decide to evacuate until she started to see the glow from the blaze.

“It wasn’t bad until I saw the flames,” Kramer said.  “Then it got real.”

She recounted a story a friend told her about how, as the friend was evacuating, she saw fire officials spraying water on her house ― trying to save it.

Kramer packed up her important papers, gathered up her daughter, and her two cats and three dogs. She then headed to her mother’s house in Little Egg Harbor.

Kramer said there was so much smoke, that she couldn’t see the Parkway as she drove past. 

Curatola implored Lacey residents to follow the direction of police and emergency services: “This is really fluid,” he said.

“What we have now is if the winds change tonight and blow harder and blow northbound, there could be other evacuations,” Curatola said.

Tom Feeney, spokesman for the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, said the closure of the parkway runs from Exit 63 in Stafford to Exit 80 in South Toms River.

With the Garden State Parkway closed in southern Ocean County and a portion of Route 9 closed in Lacey, secondary and neighborhood roads throughout the region had become veritable parking lots, choked with traffic.

Multiple evacuation centers have been established, including Manchester High School. Southern Regional High School in Stafford is open to evacuees with pets.

The following evacuations have so far been reported:

• In Waretown (Ocean Township, Ocean County), mandatory evacuation orders are in place for all Waretown residents east of Garden State Parkway to Route 9 and all houses and businesses north and south of Route 532.
• In Barnegat, a voluntary evacuation is in effect for the Windward, Mirage, Pheasant Run, Heritage Point North, Brookville and all houses on West Bay Avenue in those areas, police there said. A shelter has been set up at the United Methodist Church on Bryant Road in Waretown. Earlier in the day, mandatory evacuations took place on Route 532 between from Bryant Road to the Garden State Parkway, the forest fire service said.
• In Lacey, the fire jumped Route 9 near Beach Boulevard, police said in a Facebook post around 6:45 p.m. Evacuations have been ordered for homes on that street and the surrounding areas of Clune Park, including South River Drive, Sandy Hook Drive, Orlando Drive. Police earlier issued a mandatory evacuation order for the Pheasant Run community and, those around it as well as the southern section of the Barnegat Pines– South of Lakeside Drive South. A temporary shelter has been set up at the Lacey Township Community Center on East Lacey Road in Forked River.

Along with the parkway and parts of Route 9, three roads have been closed: Route 532 between Route 72 and the Garden State Park, Bryant Road between Routes 532 and 539, and Jones Road between Route 532 and Bryant Road, according to the forest fire service.

According to the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office, Parker Point Boulevard at Route 9 in Lacey has been partially reopened.

Lacey police said the fire jumped Route 9 near Beach Boulevard. Evacuations have been ordered for Beach Boulevard and the surrounding areas of Clune Park, including South River Drive, Sandy Hook Drive and Orlando Drive.

Wells Mills County Park is also closed, according to the forest fire service.

The fire was first reported about 10:15 a.m.

The forest fire service is battling the blaze with fire engines, bulldozers and ground crews; a helicopter capable of dropping 300 gallons of water along with another helicopter for observation; and an aircraft ― a contact air tanker ― capable of dropping 600 gallons of water.

The cause of the wildfire is still under investigation.

A Nixle alert shortly after noon from the Barnegat Police Department initially reported that about 5 acres were on fire west of Route 532 on the Barnegat/Waretown border by Jones and Bryant roads. There was no danger to the public at that time, the alert said.

According to the forest fire service, a brush fire becomes a major wildfire when it exceeds 100 acres.

The forest fire service’s current fire danger map shows the risk to be high in the bottom half of the state and moderate up north. The five-step scale runs from low to extreme with high risk being in the middle.

About 1,500 wildfires damage or destroy 7,000 acres of forest every year in the state on average, according to the forest fire service.

Check back for developments on this breaking story.