So, like, there was this massive wildfire in Ocean County, right? And get this – they charged a 17-year-old for starting it! Can you believe that? The teen allegedly set the fire in the pinelands and now faces charges of arson and stuff. But get this, he wasn’t alone – he was with a 19-year-old named Joseph Kling, who also got in trouble for lying to the cops. The fire got super huge, like over 15,000 acres huge, and caused all kinds of chaos in the area. It even destroyed a building and shut down part of the Garden State Parkway. Crazy stuff, right?
The fire is mostly contained now, thank goodness. But man, the air quality in New Jersey has been terrible because of all the smoke. Not cool, bro. And officials are warning people to stop flying drones near the fire because it’s just making things worse. Like, come on, use your common sense, people!
But yeah, they’re pretty sure Kling started the fire with a bonfire that got out of control. Not really sure why this matters, but he had some other charges before this whole wildfire thing went down. So yeah, that’s the scoop on the whole situation. Stay safe out there, folks!
Oh, and shoutout to Jeff Goldman for helping with this report. And hey, if you wanna support local news, consider subscribing, ya know? Hit up Eric Conklin at econklin@njadvancemedia.com if you wanna chat. And hey, if you buy something through a link on our site, we might get a little kickback. Just FYI. Peace out, y’all!
