Key points
- About 3,000 residents have been evacuated after a wildfire
- Rescue personnel have been deployed along with fire engines: Fire service
- Fire burned 13.2 square miles of land: Officials
ISLAMABAD: Some 3,000 residents were evacuated in the US state of New Jersey after a wildfire exploded in size, scorching thousands of acres and threatening hundreds of structures, the state’s fire service said Tuesday.
AFP reported as of 10:30 pm (0230 GMT) the Jones Road Wildfire was raging across Ocean County and was 10 per cent contained, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service said .
The fire service said “numerous” fire and rescue personnel had been deployed along with fire engines, bulldozers and ground crews. It said the cause of the fire was “under investigation.”
According to Associated Press, the fire in the Greenwood Forest Wildlife Management Area burned more than 13.2 square miles of land, fire officials said.
Popular tourist destination
The blaze, burning in Ocean and Lacey Townships in Ocean County, was only about 10 per cent contained Tuesday night, the New Jersey Fire Service said. The cause of the fire was under investigation.
The blaze had begun in a massive, rural coastal ecosystem known as the Pine Barrens, one of the largest protected land areas on the US East Coast, according to AFP.
Power was knocked out to roughly 25,000 customers, Jersey Central Power and Light said in a statement.
The blaze forced the closure of a section of the Garden State Parkway, a major highway through the state.
Ocean County, south of New York City, is a popular tourist destination that is part of the Jersey Shore and contains sights such as the Six Flags amusement park. The fire service said it would hold a press conference on Wednesday.
