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They were among no fewer than a half-dozen large brush fires -- and nearly just as many smaller blazes -- that raged at once throughout the Garden State on Sunday, whipped by winds reported at up to 40 miles an hour and low humidity that barely cracked 20%.
Several New Jersey State Police troopers gathered on the Turnpike's western awaiting word whether to close the roadway as firefighters from several towns converged on the oncoming blaze, which broke out just off Valley Brook Avenue in Lyndhurst around 3:30 p.m. or so.
Firefighters had it under control by 5 p.m. but were still hitting hot spots.
Mutual aid responders either at the scene or in coverage include firefighters from North Arlington, Kearny, East Rutherford, Rutherford and Secaucus.
Meanwhile, a firefighter with the New Jersey Firefighter Service was critically injured while responding to a Jersey Shore brush fire that grew into a massive forest fire on Sunday.
The wildfire jumped the entire width of the Garden State Parkway from Lakewood into Brick Township, damaged homes, office buildings and commercial businesses on and around Route 70 and forced the evacuations of a hotel, businesses and an entire neighborhood.
Of 29 homes damaged in the Brick Lake Park area, three were deemed uninhabitable, Brick Mayor John Ducey said. Remaining residents were allowed to return around 6:30 p.m., five hours after the blaze broke out, he said.
Meanwhile, two mixed-use professional/commercial structures were destroyed, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service (FFS) reported late Sunday.
"The origin has been identified and the cause is under investigation, though we can state it was not from a prescribed burn as reported inaccurately online," the fire service said.
Firefighters from throughout Ocean and Monmouth counties joined the service, which used two helicopters and an airplane in rotation to dump water on the flames.
A firefighter was hospitalized in critical condition, the FFS said, without elaborating.
The blaze -- which began as a brush fire in the area of Airport Road and Cedarbridge Avenue in Lakewood around 1:30 p.m. -- continued burning deep into the night.
SEE: NJ Forest Fire: State Responder Critically Injured, Homes, Businesses Damaged, GSP Closed
Other brush fires were reported Sunday in Oakland and Wallington, among other locations.
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ALSO SEE: A Ridgefield Park junior firefighter was critically injured in a Sunday afternoon house blaze, authorities confirmed.
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