New Jersey wildfire forces evacuations and reaches closed nuclear power plant | US wildfires

A fast-moving wildfire burning in New Jersey forced thousands of people to temporarily evacuate on Tuesday, as officials warned the blaze could become the largest in the state in about 20 years.

Flames from the Jones Road wildfire in Ocean county sparked several small blazes near a decommissioned Oyster Creek nuclear power plant, state officials said.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the fire had burned 12,000 acres and was 35% contained, according to the New Jersey forest fire service.

Initially Garden State Parkway, one of New Jersey’s busiest highways, was closed between Barnegat and Lacey townships, and more than 1,300 structures were threatened. Shelters were open at two high schools, according to the Barnegat police department.

Officials later said all evacuation orders had been lifted for the approximately 5,000 residents who had been evacuated on Tuesday in Lacey and Ocean townships and the highways had reopened in both directions.

The Jersey Central Power and Light Company cut power to about 25,000 customers at the request of the forest fire service and the wildfire’s command post on Tuesday evening, including thousands in Barnegat township.

Crews have begun restoring power to customers, the company said. About 18,700 customers remained without service, it said on Wednesday afternoon. “We estimate restoring power to the remaining customers by late this afternoon/early evening,” it said.

The cause of the fire was under investigation. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

The fire is expected to continue to burn for several days until rain comes on Friday or Saturday, officials said during an update on Wednesday.

“This is still a very active fire,” said Shawn LaTourette, the state’s commissioner of environmental protection. “As we continue to get this under full control, the expectation is that the number of acres will grow and will grow in a place that is unpopulated.”

He warned that the fire could become the largest in New Jersey in about 20 years. A fire in May 2007 in the same area consumed 17,000 acres.

Debi Schaffer was caught in gridlocked traffic after evacuating with her two dogs while her husband agreed to stay with their 22 chickens, the Press of Atlantic City reported.

Around her Waretown house it was “like a war zone”, she said, describing smoke, sirens and the buzz of helicopters.

The site of the fire is near an alpaca farm. The farm said in a Facebook post that the property was not threatened and all of the animals were safe.

Associated Press contributed to this report