All evacuation orders lifted. Residents are free to return to homes, police say
Wednesday, April 23, 2025 6:42PM
Toni Yates reports from Chatsworth, New Jersey.
OCEAN TOWNSHIP, New Jersey (WABC) — A wildfire in New Jersey has exploded to over 11,500 acres after igniting Tuesday in Ocean County and threatening more than 1,000 structures, shutting down a major highway and causing thousands of people to flee the flames.
The Jones Road Wildfire was 30% contained on Wednesday morning, officials said at a news conference.
Shawn LaTourette, New Jersey’s Commissioner of Environmental Protection, said fire officials expect the blaze to grow and that it could turn out to be the largest wildfire in New Jersey in 20 years.
“Thanks to the incredible, heroic work of the good men and women of our New Jersey fire service folks, homes and lives have been saved and we truly averted a major disaster,” LaTourette said.
LaTourette said that no injuries have been reported.
The smoke is expected to reach other parts of the Tri-State area later Wednesday.
Eyewitness News Meteorologist Brittany Bell explains the wildfire risk to the Tri-State area and when firefighters will get some relief via rain.
Meteorologist Brittany Bell talks about the fire risk to our area.
Fanned by dry vegetation and low relative humidity, the fire was first reported in Ocean County at 9:45 a.m. ET on Tuesday and exploded overnight from a few hundred acres to 8,500, according to the Forest Fire Service.
New Jersey Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way, who is serving as acting governor while Gov. Phil Murphy is out of the country, declared a state of emergency in Ocean County on Wednesday morning, freeing up resources to battle the blaze.
The fire is located south of Toms River along the Garden State Parkway. At one point on Tuesday evening, flames jumped the parkway, prompting officials to close it and bringing one of New Jersey’s busiest roads to a halt
Chopper 6 overhead as NJ wildfire grows to 3,200 acres on April 22, 2025.
About 5,000 residents were forced to evacuate. Debbie Schaffer, of Waretown, was one of those who had to leave.
“It’s a little scary… like I didn’t have an emergency bag packed, so I was kind of walking in circles knowing I had to get out of there, but trying to think, ‘What do I need?'” she recalled.
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 Jersey Central Power and Light Company cut power to about 25,000 customers at the request of the Forest Fire Service and the wildfire’s command post Tuesday evening, including thousands in Barnegat Township. A spokesman for the company said Wednesday that some customers could have power restored later in the day.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
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 Associated Press and ABC News contributed to this report.
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