New Jersey
New Jersey’s Jones Road wildfire is now fully contained
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New Jersey Forest Fire Service officials announced Monday that the Jones Road wildfire is 100% contained, more than two weeks after the blaze was first reported.
The acreage of the blaze continues to be held to 15,300 burned.
Two people have been charged in connection with the wildfire. Joseph Kling, 19, of Waretown, was taken into custody April 23. He was released to home detention with an ankle monitor May 5. Also charged, a 17-year-old boy. Both have been charged with arson, aggravated arson and hindering apprehension.
According to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, both are accused of setting a stack of wooden pallets on fire and leaving the area without extinguishing the bonfire properly. A further investigation found that Kling and the teenager gave false information about how the fire started, according to the prosecutor’s office.