Evacuation orders were issued in New Jersey and traffic on the major Garden State Parkway was being diverted because of a wildfire that began Tuesday and grew to 8,500 acres, officials said.
Around 3,000 people have been told to evacuate from the area of the Jones Road Fire in Ocean County, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service said.
The service announced on social media shortly before 12:30 p.m. that the fire was burning in the Greenwood Forest Wildlife Management Area in Barnegat Township.
It was 10% contained Tuesday night. The cause remains under investigation.
No deaths or injuries have been reported, but the state forest fire service said that 1,320 structures were threatened. Damage assessments were underway, it said.
The Garden State Parkway runs north and south through the state. Southbound traffic was being diverted at Exit 80, and northbound traffic was being diverted at Exit 63, New Jersey State Police said.
Aerial video from NBC Philadelphia showed traffic crawling in the area as drivers tried to negotiate the closure and reach their destinations.
“Chaotic, traffic, can’t get nowhere, been stuck in traffic for three hours,” Jake Willis told the station.
The southern part of Ocean County and the state are under either abnormally dry or drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
The New Jersey Forest Fire Service lists the region as being in a “high” fire risk.
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