Man charged with arson in the ‘Shotgun’ wildfire near Six Flags Great Adventure

As hundreds of acres continue to burn, a man is in custody and accused of starting the fire near Six Flags Great Adventure, one of several drought-related wildfires in New Jersey.

Richard Shashaty, 37, of Brick Township, is charged with arson and firearms violations after allegedly firing prohibited Dragon’s Breath shards linked to what authorities are calling the “Shotgun Fire” in Jackson Township.

On Wednesday, Jackson Township first responders were called to the Central Jersey Rifle Range for a fire that would devour about 350 acres in less than a week, officials said.

“The fire was caused by magnesium shards of a Dragon’s Breath 12-gauge shotgun round igniting available combustibles on the berm of the shooting range. The firing of this type of incendiary or tracer ammunition is prohibited in the State of New Jersey,” law enforcement and forest fire officials said in a statement.

The fire is presumed to have started in the southwest corner of the rifle range, according to the statement by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit-Arson Squad, New Jersey Forest Fire Service, and the New Jersey State Fire Marshal’s Office. It resulted in 15 structures being evacuated and the closure of Stump Tavern Road.

On Saturday, Shashaty turned himself in at the Jackson Township Police Department headquarters, accompanied by his attorney, officials said. He was transferred to the Ocean County Jail, where he awaits a detention hearing.

The Shotgun Fire is just one of multiple wildfires across New Jersey. Heavy smoke from fires in South Jersey, including the Pheasant Run fire in Gloucester County and the Bethany Run Wildfire in Burlington and Camden Counties, prompted Philadelphia’s Office of Emergency Management to issue a warning Sunday morning to “use precaution if outdoors and close doors and windows.”

In Camden County, Commissioner Jonathan Young issued a statement early Sunday afternoon saying some residents “may have woken up to the smell of smoke and seen small flickers of ash” from the fires burning throughout South Jersey. He said the 360-acre Bethany Run fire on the Voorhees and Evesham border was contained over the weekend, but that other fires throughout the state, including one in West Milford, Passaic County, involving 2,500 acres, might continue to carry “the smell and ash our way” but stressed that “Camden County is not under any threat.”

In Pennsylvania’s Berks County, Sunday marked the third day in a row that firefighters battled the Neversink Mountain fire near Reading. That fire forced some evacuations through Saturday morning and resulted in a non-fire-related injury to a firefighter.

Through these fires, rain has been the missing hero. Close to 88% of the contiguous United States is considered “abnormally dry” by the interagency U.S. Drought Monitor.

Rain in the forecast for Sunday evening would end Philadelphia’s record six-week dry run, but don’t expect it to last. The dryness is expected to resume soon after.

Staff writer Anthony R. Wood contributed to this article.