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(OCEAN COUNTY, N.J.) — A wildfire in New Jersey has exploded to 12,000 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 35% contained on Wednesday afternoon, according to the New Jersey Forest Fire Service.
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.
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.
Trevor Raynor of the New Jersey Forest Fire Service said the fire was first spotted from the Cedar Bridge Fire Tower near Barnegat Township, New Jersey.
“We dispatched resources right off the bat. When they arrived at the location, the fire was about 10 to 20 acres,” Raynor said. “We had resources there quickly, we dispatched aircraft, and even with a big show of force, it grew to be a large wildfire.”
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.
“Smoke and everything was right in my backyard. Everything was covered in black ashes,” said Kelly Mendoza, one of the evacuees.
Officials said the blaze threatened structures in Ocean and Lacey Townships.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, said Chief Bill Donnelly of the New Jersey Forest Fire Service.
Officials said they expect to have the fire fully contained by this weekend. About 100 firefighters were battling the blaze from the ground and air on Wednesday, officials said.
“As the day progressed, it was kind of scary,” evacuated resident Michael Ferrara told ABC News about weighing his decision Tuesday night to leave or stay.
Ferrara said he watched in horror as flames and smoke closed in on his neighborhood, prompting him to heed the mandatory evacuation orders.
He said the first thing that went through his mind was keeping himself and his family safe.
“But what are you going to take with you — birth certificates, passports?” Ferrara said. “It’s just a very eerie feeling.”
LaTourette said that more than a thousand structures were under threat at one point and more than 5,000 residents heeded mandatory evacuation orders or voluntarily evacuated.
A forced power outage due to the fires has also left at least 25,000 customers in the dark. Wednesday’s forecast is expected to be breezy through the morning with winds gusting up to 20 mph from the north, but winds should calm this afternoon as high pressure starts moving into the region with the next chance for rain beginning Friday night.
Firefighters lifted the evacuation order and cautioned residents to stay on alert.
“I hope that I have a home to return back to,” one distraught evacuee told ABC News.
Due mostly to drought conditions across New Jersey, particularly the southern part of the state, firefighters have had a busy first four months of the year, Chief Donnelly said.
He noted that at this time last year, there had been 310 wildfires across the state that scorched 315 acres. So far this year, Donnelly said there have been 662 wildfires statewide that have burned 16,572 acres.
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