19-Year-Old Arrested for Arson Linked to Significant N.J. Wildfire – One America News Network
OAN Staff Abril Elfi
12:37 PM – Thursday, April 24, 2025
A 19-year-old individual from Ocean Township, New Jersey, has been charged with arson after allegedly starting a wildfire that has burned over 15,000 acres in the state.
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According to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, Joseph Kling, aged 19, built a bonfire in the expansive Forked River Mountains Wilderness Area using wooden pallets. The blaze reportedly intensified uncontrollably after Kling did not adequately extinguish it.
He is currently being held at the Ocean County Jail, awaiting his detention hearing.
Initially detected from the Cedar Bridge Fire Tower near Barnegat Township around 9:45 a.m. on Tuesday, the fire initially spanned just 10 to 20 acres. However, it quickly spread out of control, and by Thursday morning, it had burned at least 15,000 acres and destroyed at least one commercial building.
As per the latest update from the New Jersey Forest Fire Service, the fire is currently 50% contained with “12 structures threatened.”
Shawn LaTourette, Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, remarked that this fire could potentially be the largest wildfire in the state in the last twenty years. He praised the dedicated efforts of all firefighters involved.
“Thanks to the incredible, heroic work of the good men and women of our fire service, homes and lives have been saved and we truly averted a major disaster,” he stated.
He also noted that, fortunately, there have been no reported injuries and all evacuations have now been lifted.
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