A massive wildfire tearing through the Forked River Mountains Wilderness Area, which has charred more than 15,000 acres in southern Ocean County has been traced to a single, reckless act—and authorities say a 19-year-old is to blame.
Joseph Kling, a resident of Ocean Township (Waretown), was arrested and charged with Aggravated Arson and Arson on Wednesday, just a day after flames erupted in the protected wilderness area near Jones and Bryant Roads. Officials say the fire began with a bonfire of wooden pallets that Kling failed to fully extinguish before leaving the scene.
The inferno, now one of the most destructive wildfires in Ocean County in recent memory, was first spotted at 9:45 a.m. on April 22 by observers at the Cedar Bridge Fire Tower. Within hours, flames had engulfed vast stretches of land across Waretown and Lacey Townships, destroying a commercial building and forcing emergency responders into a multi-agency battle to contain the blaze.
Investigators from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, New Jersey Forest Fire Service, and state fire marshals meticulously tracked the fire’s origin using GPS and physical evidence. Their conclusion: the fire was incendiary—set off by human carelessness.
Kling was taken into custody at the Waretown Police Department and is currently being held at the Ocean County Jail, pending a detention hearing.
“This was not an accident. It was a preventable tragedy,” Ocean County Prosecutor Brad Billhimer said, alongside NJDEP Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette and Ocean Township Police Chief Michal Rogalski.
The probe that led to Kling’s arrest was a coordinated effort involving more than half a dozen law enforcement and fire investigation agencies. As containment operations continue and damage assessments mount, officials warn that the environmental and economic toll of this fire could take years to fully recover.