May 02, 2025
Thomas P. Costello/Asbury Park Press via Imagn Images
A New Jersey Forest Service helicopter heads toward the Wells Mills Reservoir in Ocean Township on April 23 to pick up water to battle the nearby Jones Road Wildfire. A second person, a 17 year-old boy, was charged in connection with the blaze.
A second suspect has been arrested and charged with arson in connection with the wildfire that has burned over 15,000 acres in the New Jersey Pinelands.
Police had previously charged Joseph Kling, 19, of Ocean Township, with arson for allegedly igniting wood pallets in the national reserve and leaving without fully extinguishing them, spurring the still-burning Jones Road Wildfire. A 17-year-old boy who supposedly assisted Kling in lighting the bonfire was taken into custody Thursday and also charged with arson, aggravated arson and hindering apprehension.
According to the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office, this unnamed juvenile gave law enforcement false information about how the fire began. Kling, too, provided faulty information, prosecutors said, and has subsequently received an additional charge of hindering apprehension.
The blaze initially broke out April 23. It temporarily closed the Garden State Parkway, knocked out power for some Ocean County residents and led to evacuation orders in Lacey Township which were lifted the same day. It has destroyed at least one commercial building and several vehicles.
The Jones Road Wildfire is 80% contained as of Friday, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service said.
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