New York Post
By Patrick Reilly and Chris Nesi
Published April 24, 2025
Updated April 24, 2025, 10:19 a.m. ET
A 19-year-old man has been charged with arson for allegedly sparking the massive wildfire in the New Jersey Pine Barrens that has torched 15,000 acres, prosecutors said.
Joseph Kling, of Ocean Township, allegedly started a bonfire in the vast Forked River Mountains Wilderness Area with wooden pallets that exploded out of control when he did not properly put it out, according to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office.
Kling was taken into custody at Ocean Township police headquarters and brought to the Ocean County Jail.
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