On Saturday, May 24, 2025, the Lacey Elks Lodge in Ocean County, New Jersey, held a large party to thank first responders for their work battling the Jones Road Wildfire, with no loss of homes or lives. The fire, that started April 22 after a bonfire in the Pine Barrens was improperly extinguished, spread quickly, threatening homes and businesses in Lacey Township and Ocean Township, an alpaca farm, and even an inactive nuclear power plant.
One commercial property in Lacey Township was completely destroyed, and some 15,300 acres of the Pinelands burned. Firefighters from throughout the region and members of the New Jersey Forest Fire Service worked together to put out the fire, which was 100% contained after about three weeks. It's the second largest wildfire in the state in 20 years.
There are more than one million acres of Pinelands in New Jersey; some species there depend on fire to reproduce, and today, there is already evidence of new growth in the scorched ground.
Two people have been arrested and face charges in connection with the fire, including aggravated arson.
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