The teen, whose name was not released because of his age, was taken into custody on Wednesday, May 1, and charged with aggravated arson, arson, and hindering apprehension, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said on Friday, May 2.
Joseph Kling, 19, of Waretown, was previously arrested and charged with aggravated arson and arson for setting wooden pallets on fire and leaving before it was out, Billhimer said.
Kling was taken into custody at the Ocean Township (Waretown) Police Department on April 23 and has been in the Ocean County Jail since, awaiting a detention hearing, the prosecutor said.
Investigators said the fire was started by an improperly extinguished bonfire. It began in the Ocean County Natural Lands Trust area, according to GPS data used by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Arson Squad, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service, and other agencies.
The fire started Tuesday, April 22, around 9:45 a.m., when a fire tower spotted smoke coming from the area of Jones Road and Bryant Road in Waretown, Billhimer said.
Emergency crews arrived and found an active fire in the Forked River Mountains Wilderness Area, on the east side of Jones Road, Billhimer said. As of April 28, 2025, the fire had burned about 15,300 acres and destroyed a commercial building, according to the prosecutor.
The prosecutor said the 17-year-old helped set the pallets on fire and left the area without making sure the fire was out. The teen also gave “misinformation to law enforcement about how the fire started,” Billhimer said. He is currently being held at the Ocean County Juvenile Detention Center.
On May 1, Kling was also charged with hindering apprehension for giving false information to law enforcement, Billhimer said. He was served with the charge at the Ocean County Jail.
Billhimer thanked multiple local, county, and state law enforcement and fire agencies for their work in the ongoing investigation.
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