INFERNO

New Jersey Wildfire Prompts Evacuations as 2,500 Acres Go Up in Flames

Roads were closed overnight as crews battled to contain the fire.

A massive wildfire in central New Jersey triggered evacuation orders on Tuesday night as 2,500 acres were engulfed in flames. The conflagration dubbed “Jimmy’s Waterhole Fire” spread rapidly across Manchester Township in Ocean County, destroying federal, state, and private property along the way. Authorities said 170 structures were evacuated and 75 more were threatened by the blaze as of Wednesday morning, with the New Jersey Forest Fire Service saying that evacuees had been “relocated to the Manchester Township High School.” About 10 percent of the fire had been contained early Wednesday as crews continued to tackle the flames. Road closures remained in effect along Route 70 and Route 539, according to the latest update.