19-Year-Old Arrested For Allegedly Starting New Jersey Wildfire By Setting Wooden Pallets Ablaze & Leaving w/o Properly Extinguishing Them

19-Year-Old Arrested For Allegedly Starting New Jersey Wildfire By Setting Wooden Pallets Ablaze & Leaving w/o Properly Extinguishing Them

A fire gone wrong has one teen behind bars and thousands displaced.

Joseph Kling, 19, was arrested after authorities say he sparked the massive Jones Road Wildfire by setting wooden pallets on fire and leaving without properly extinguishing them. Prosecutors confirmed the fire was “incendiary by an improperly extinguished bonfire.” Kling is now facing arson and aggravated arson charges and is being held at Ocean County Jail.

 

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The fire broke out Tuesday (Apr. 22) in the Greenwood Wildlife Management area near Waretown and quickly spread across the Pine Barrens. It jumped the Garden State Parkway and forced over 5,000 people to evacuate. Though one commercial building was destroyed and several cabins were damaged, no homes were lost, and no injuries were reported.

As of Thursday morning (Apr. 24), the fire had burned at least 15,000 acres and was 50% contained. Officials expect it to grow due to dry conditions.

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[VIA]