OCEAN COUNTY — Area emergency response groups are helping to combat the Jones Road fire that started on Tuesday in a southern Ocean County forest and could possibly be the largest wildfire in New Jersey in 20 years.
Local fire departments from around the state, including many from Monmouth County, joined state firefighters working around the clock to try to contain the blaze, which originated in the Greenwood Forest Wildlife Management Area near Jones Road in Barnegat Township.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
“There is a lot of work to do,” New Jersey Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn LaTourette said at a press conference Wednesday morning. LaTourette said that the expectation is that the fire will “burn for a couple of days.”
An update issued by the New Jersey Forest Fire Service on Facebook Wednesday afternoon reported that 12,000 acres had been affected with 35% containment.
According to Manasquan Fire Marshal Chris Barkalow, as part of the Monmouth County Wildland Urban Interface Protection Task Force, engines were sent from Manasquan, Brielle, Wall Township, Spring Lake, Spring Lake Heights and Avon-By-The-Sea. The group of engines, which make up Monmouth County Task Force Team 1, were one of two teams enlisted to fight the colossal fire by the state fire marshal on Tuesday, according to Barkalow.
A total of 25 pieces of firefighting apparatus from throughout the county were on scene to assist, in addition to the Monmouth County Fire Marshal’s Office Fire Coordination Team, according to the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office.
Barkalow said five members from Manasquan’s Volunteer Engine Co. 2 were situated in a development where they were protecting structures “from brands and falling embers” and set up behind a row in the forest that was plowed by the New Jersey State Forest Fire Service. The group fought the fire for 12 hours, before returning to Manasquan early Wednesday morning, Barkalow said.
Spring Lake Fire Chief Ed Hale and five other firefighters were dispatched to the Ocean County Fire Academy staging area in Waretown on Tuesday at 5 p.m. with a rig to assist in preventing fire from spreading to nearby structures, such as homes and businesses. The department remained in the area, and was released at 3:30 a.m., according to Hale.
Hale said that the flames reached 25 feet taller than the trees.
Brielle Fire Chief Daryl Schambach confirmed that the department sent over an engine to help fight the fire.
Wall Township Chief of Police Sean O’Halloran confirmed to The Coast Star that all three fire districts in the township were dispatched to the fire, and all were secured around 4 a.m. Wednesday morning.
In a press release from the Wall Township Police Department, police stated that the departments were deployed as part of a Structural Protection Task Force led by Wall Fire Chiefs Chris Tamayo of South Wall Fire Rescue and Dave Spera of the Glendola Fire Company. The task force was deployed at approximately 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, until around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday. Units provided structural protection to surrounding neighborhoods threatened by the fire, as per the release.
Spring Lake Heights Independent Fire Co. 1 shared a message on Facebook Tuesday evening, saying the department currently had crew in the Barnegat area supporting New Jersey Forest Fire Service efforts.
Acting Gov. Tahesha Way confirmed on Tuesday through Twitter that, “At this time, we have no loss of life and no homes have been harmed.” Lt. Gov. Way was serving as acting governor because Gov. Phil Murphy was traveling to Poland for a Holocaust commemoration, according to the governor’s office.
Acting Gov. Way declared a state of emergency in Ocean County effective 7 a.m. Wednesday in response to the active fire near Lacey, Ocean and Barnegat townships.
According to Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L), the provider of energy to more than 1.1 million customers in the state, as of Wednesday morning more than 25,000 customers in Ocean County were without power.
PRESS CONFERENCE
The New Jersey Environmental Protection commissioner and the New Jersey Forest Fire Service held a press conference at Coyle Field, an air attack base operated by the New Jersey Forest Fire Service in Burlington County, at 11 a.m. Wednesday, providing a status update on the burning wildfire.
Chief of the New Jersey Forest Fire Service Bill Donnelly said that the night before, local fire departments through their county coordinators “pulled the trigger,” with “hundreds of firetrucks” responding from Gloucester, Camden, Burlington, Ocean and Monmouth counties providing mutual aid.
According to Commissioner LaTourette, thanks to the “heroic work of the good men and women of our New Jersey Forest Fire Service, folks’ homes and lives have been saved and we’ve truly avoided a major disaster.”
LaTourette said that 1,300 homes were threatened during the course of fighting the wildfire. No residential structures were lost; however, one commercial structure was destroyed and some outbuildings and vehicles were also affected.
Roughly 5,000 residents were evacuated, both mandated and voluntary. Those evacuation orders have since been lifted.
According to Chief Donnelly, this time last year, there were 310 wildfires with 315 acres burned. This year, for the same period, the state has seen 662 wildfires and 16,572 acres burned.
 6x10 4c.jpg)
