By Doyinsola Oladipo and Rich McKay
(Reuters) -A sprawling wildfire burning in New Jersey’s Pinelands near Atlantic Ocean beach towns could become the largest in the state in 20 years, having already consumed some 11,500 acres, officials said on Wednesday.
The Jones Road Wildfire had spread to 11,500 acres in less than 24 hours as of 10 a.m. on Wednesday and was 30% contained, the New Jersey Fire Service said in a post on X. It was no longer threatening populated areas.
The blaze could become the largest in New Jersey in 20 years, said Shawn LaTourette, the state’s commissioner of environmental protection, at a press conference. A fire in 2005 in the same area consumed 17,000 acres.
Lieutenant Governor Tahesha Way declared a state of emergency beginning at 7 a.m. on Wednesday; Governor Phil Murphy is on an overseas trip.
“At this time, we have no loss of life and no homes have been harmed,” Way said on X on Wednesday morning.
So far in 2025, New Jersey has experienced nearly twice as many wildfires as usual, with 662 wildfires burning 16,572 acres. That compares with about 310 wildfires burning 315 acres last year, state Forest Fire Service Chief Bill Donnelly said at the briefing.
On average, 1,500 wildfires damage or destroy 7,000 acres of the state’s forests each year, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service said on its website.
The blaze started on Tuesday in the Greenwood Forest Wildlife Management Area near Lacey, Ocean and Barnegat townships in Ocean County, about halfway between Asbury Park and Atlantic City. The area, with a combined population of about 64,000 residents, is about 15 miles inland from the Atlantic Ocean shoreline.
About 1,300 homes were forced to evacuate on Tuesday, but the evacuation orders were lifted by Wednesday morning. In addition, a stretch of the Garden State Parkway, a major north-south highway, was closed on Tuesday but reopened Wednesday morning.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, and there is no timeline for full containment.
The fire is expected to continue to burn for several days until rain comes on Friday or Saturday, New Jersey fire officials said at the briefing.
About 25,000 residents remain without power, according to the Jersey Central Power & Light, which is owned by FirstEnergy.
Embers from the fire sparked several small blazes near a de-commissioned nuclear power plant known as Oyster Creek, according to state officials. The plant, owned by Holtec International, shut down in 2018.
((Reporting by Doyinsola Oladipo in New York and Rich McKay in Atlanta; Editing by Leslie Adler))
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