OCEAN COUNTY – A 17-year-old boy was arrested in connection with the wildfire that started on April 22 which caused thousands of evacuations and burned more than 15,000 acres.
The juvenile, whose identity is not being released, was charged with Aggravated Arson, Arson, and Hindering Apprehension, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.
This is the second arrest in relation to this incident. Joseph Kling, 19, of Waretown, was previously charged with Aggravated Arson and Arson. Kling now faces an additional charge of Hindering Apprehension.
Investigators had said that Kling was the individual responsible for setting wooden pallets on fire and then leaving the area without the fire being fully extinguished. The new charge of hindering comes from allegedly providing false information as to how the fire started.
Officers said they learned the origin of the fire by using a Global Positioning System. The investigation led to a second individual, the 17-year-old, who assisted in setting the wooden pallets on fire and then left the area before the fire was extinguished.
The Jones Road Wildfire, first spotted at 9:45 a.m. on Tuesday, April 22, from the Cedar Bridge Fire Tower, spread to 12,000 acres in just an hour. It ripped through the Forked River Mountains Wilderness Area in Lacey and Waretown. By that first evening, the fire had crossed both the Garden State Parkway and Route 9, forcing about 5,000 residents in Ocean and Lacey townships to evacuate. Several outbuildings, one commercial building, and multiple vehicles were destroyed. It even managed to damage two unused electrical buildings at Oyster Creek Generating Station.
Power was cut in the area, impacting 25,000 homes. Shelters were set up. Over 200 firefighters from all 21 counties in New Jersey arrived to help.
Photo courtesy New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
The weather conditions made the fire spread quickly. As Assistant Fire Warden Trevor Raynor said, “Dry fuels, drought conditions, and wind all made it harder to stop.”
Billhimer acknowledged the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit-Arson Squad, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, New Jersey Forest Fire Service, Ocean Township (Waretown) Police Detective Bureau, Lacey Police Department Detective Bureau, Ship Bottom Police, New Jersey State Fire Marshal’s Office, Ocean County Fire Marshal’s Office, and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, for their continuing efforts in connection with this investigation.
Charges are merely accusations until proven in a court of law.
The post Second Arrest Made In Ocean County Wildfire appeared first on Jersey Shore Online.
