An extensive forest fire in Pinelands, New Jersey, near coastal cities in the Atlantic Ocean, can become the largest in the state in about 20 years, having consumed about 4,700 hectares, authorities said. 
The Jones Road Forest Fire spread in less than 24 hours and was 30% contained, the New Jersey Fire Department said.
The fire can become the largest in New Jersey in about 20 years, said Shawn Latourrette, the state’s environmental protection commissioner. A fire in May 2007 in the same area consumed about 6,900 hectares.
Deputy Governor Tahesha Way decreed a state of emergency on Wednesday, as Governor Phil Murphy is traveling abroad.
“At this point, there was no loss of lives and no house was damaged,” Way said on Wednesday morning.
So far, in 2025, New Jersey had almost double forest fires than normal, with 662 forest fires burning 6,700 hectares.
The fire began on Tuesday at Greenwood Forest Wildlife Management area, near the municipalities of Lacey, Ocean and Barnegat, in Ocean County, approximately halfway between Asbury Park and Atlantic City. The area, with an estimated population of 64 thousand inhabitants, is about 24 kilometers from the Atlantic Ocean coast.
Residents were forced to leave their houses on Tuesday, but the withdrawal orders were suspended yesterday. In addition, an excerpt from Garden State Parkway, an important North-South Highway, was closed on Tuesday, but reopened this Wednesday.
The cause of the fire is still investigated, and there is no schedule for total containment.
The fire is expected to continue to burn for several days until it rains, the Firefighters of New Jersey said.
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