As many as 3,000 people were forced to evacuate their neighborhoods Tuesday as a wildfire threatened homes in New Jersey and shut down part of the Garden State Parkway.
The Jones Road Wildfire started around noon EDT Tuesday in the Greenwood Forest Wildlife Management Area in Ocean County. By Tuesday night, it had consumed more than 13 square miles and was threatening more than 1,300 structures in the Ocean and Lacey townships, according to the New Jersey Fire Service.
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Wednesday morning, all evacuation orders were lifted for Lacey Township, the city’s police department announced.
At the height of Tuesday evening’s rush hour, the fire shut down a stretch of the Garden State Parkway between the Barnegat and Lacey townships, creating traffic gridlock as residents tried to evacuate. Several other roads in the area were also shut down.
Two high schools were being used as evacuation shelters and evacuation orders remained in place early Wednesday.
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Jersey Central Power And Light shut off electricity to about 25,000 customers, saying on X that it was at the request of the Forest Fire Service, for the safety of crews battling the fire.
There were no immediate reports of injuries. As of Wednesday morning, the fire was about 10% contained. There’s no word yet on the cause of the fire, but parts of South Jersey are in moderate to severe drought. It’s expected to stay dry for the next couple of days, no rain is in the forecast until Friday when a cold front will bring some showers Friday night into Saturday.
This is a developing story; continue to check back here for updates.