Local man charged with arson in massive and still burning New Jersey wildfire
(April 25, 2025) Yesterday, prosecutors joined with environmental and law enforcement officials in Ocean County and Ocean Township, New Jersey, to announce that on April 23, 2025, Joseph Kling, 19, of Ocean Township (Waretown), was charged with Aggravated Arson and Arson in connection with a wildfire that started in Waretown on April 22, and continued to spread throughout the southern Ocean County area.
Investigators determined that an improperly extinguished bonfire was the cause of the massive blaze. ~ Fox 29
As of last night, the latest wildfire to hit the Garden State was only 50% contained – and has been burning for several days in an area just miles from the Jersey Shore, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. The blaze could become New Jersey’s largest wildfire since 2007, when a 17,000-acre fire burned in the same general locale.
On April 22 at approximately 9:45 a.m., the Cedar Bridge Fire Tower located a column of smoke coming from the area of Jones Road and Bryant Road in Ocean Township. Upon arrival, emergency personnel observed a fire within the Ocean County Natural Lands Trust’s Forked River Mountains Wilderness Area, which is on the east side of Jones Road.
As of April 24, the fire has burned through more than 15,000 acres in Waretown and Lacey Townships and has destroyed one commercial building.
A thorough and extensive investigation conducted by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit-Arson Squad, New Jersey Forest Fire Service, Ocean County Fire Marshal’s Office, and New Jersey State Fire Marshal’s Office, plotted the origin of the fire via Global Positioning System (GPS). The cause of the fire was determined to be incendiary by an improperly extinguished bonfire.
Further investigation revealed that Kling was the individual responsible for setting wooden pallets on fire – and then leaving the area without the fire being fully extinguished. Kling was taken into custody at Ocean Township (Waretown) Police Headquarters and transported to the Ocean County Jail, where he is presently being held pending a detention hearing.
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(Source: Ocean County Prosecutors Office)
(Cover photo: Joseph Kling mugshot, Image credit: Ocean County Jail)
Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today
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