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More than 1,300 structures were threatened and about 3,000
residents were evacuated, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service
said. Shelters were open at two high schools, according to the
Barnegat Police Department.
The fire service planned to give an update at a news conference
late Wednesday morning.
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. The company said on X that it doesn’t
expect to restore the power before Wednesday.
“This is for the safety of crews battling the fire,” the company
said.
The fire in the Greenwood Forest Wildlife Management Area burned
more than 13 square miles (34 square kilometers) of land, fire
officials said.
The blaze, burning in Ocean and Lacey Townships in Ocean County,
was only about 10% contained Tuesday night, the fire service
said. The cause of the fire was under investigation.
There were no immediate reports of injuries.
Debi Schaffer was caught in gridlocked traffic after evacuating
with her two dogs while her husband agreed to stay with their 22
chickens, The Press of Atlantic City reported.
“I wanted to take them in the car with me; can you imagine 22
chickens in a car?" she told the newspaper.
Around her Waretown house it was “like a war zone,” she said,
describing smoke, sirens and the buzz of helicopters.
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 blaze is the second major forest fire in the region in less
than a week.
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