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Joseph Kling, of Ocean Township (Waretown), was charged with Aggravated Arson and Arson in connection with the Tuesday, April 22 blaze, according to a joint statement from Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer, NJ DEP Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette, and Ocean Township Police Chief Michal Rogalski.
The fire was first spotted at 9:45 a.m. by the Cedar Bridge Fire Tower, which reported seeing smoke near Jones Road and Bryant Road. Emergency crews arrived to find flames inside the Forked River Mountains Wilderness Area, located on the east side of Jones Road, officials said.
As of April 24, the fire had spread across 15,000 acres in Waretown and Lacey townships, officials said.
A joint investigation by multiple agencies, including the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit-Arson Squad and New Jersey Forest Fire Service, determined the fire began from “an improperly extinguished bonfire.”
Investigators used GPS plotting to identify the fire’s point of origin. They later concluded that Kling had “set wooden pallets on fire — and then left the area without the fire being fully extinguished.”
Kling was arrested at the Ocean Township Police Headquarters and taken to the Ocean County Jail, where he remains pending a detention hearing, authorities said.
Prosecutor Billhimer thanked the numerous agencies involved in the investigation, including the Ocean County Sheriff’s Crime Scene Unit, NJ State Fire Marshal’s Office, and multiple local police departments.
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