1 dead in plane crash believed to have ignited a wildfire in Ocean County, officials said
By Sunday afternoon, the fire had spread to 325 acres, was not contained and threatened 25 structures amid “abnormally dry” conditions in the area due to low rain amounts, officials said.
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A small passenger plane crashed into a wooded area in a Jersey Shore community Saturday night, killing its only occupant and apparently sparking a wildfire that had spread to 325 acres by late Sunday afternoon, threatening structures and forcing several road closures in the heart of the New Jersey Pinelands, officials said.
The blaze, which was started near Robert J. Miller Airpark, which includes the Ocean County Airport, was first reported around 11:40 p.m. Saturday, a spokesman for the New Jersey Forest Fire Service said during a news conference late Sunday afternoon.
By 4 p.m. Sunday, the fire had not been contained and was threatening 25 structures, a spokesman for the Forest Fire Service said, noting “abnormally dry” conditions in the area due to low rain amounts.
Emergency responders had closed portions of several major regional roads, including Dover and Mule Roads in Lacey Township. Residents were told they did not need to evacuate their homes, but officials urged everyone to avoid the area of the fire. Volunteer fire companies were assisting the Forest Fire Service in protecting buildings threatened by the growing blaze, officials said.
A spokesperson from the National Transportation Safety Board said in a statement Sunday that the plane, a Cirrus SR20, crashed at 10:18 p.m. Saturday about half a mile southwest of the Ocean County Airport, which consists of 822 acres in both Lacey and Berkeley Townships, according to its website. The plane had taken off from Monmouth Executive Airport in Farmingdale, N.J., about 30 miles north of the crash site, according to the statement.
At the news conference later Sunday afternoon, Brian Rayner, a senior safety investigator at the NTSB, said a positive identity of the pilot was not yet available and that NTSB investigators, local police and the medical examiner had not yet been able to get to the crash site because of the fire. Rayner said he had only seen aerial video of the site provided by Forest Service helicopters.
Rayner said he did not believe weather was a factor in the crash, noting winds were calm and conditions clear Saturday night.
Rayner said he anticipated being able to access the crash scene Monday and possibly have the remains of the plane removed to an off-site facility for examination.
Lacey Township is a municipality of about 29,000 located 60 miles east of Philadelphia. The Ocean County Airport is five miles southwest of Toms River Township, providing quick access to the Jersey Shore, according to its website. It provides two runways and a heliport, and accommodates private planes, corporate jets, and emergency services aircraft.
Dry conditions have kept the Forest Fire Service busy over the past several months. Two weeks ago, fire crews battled a 1,500-acre wildfire in Camden and Burlington Counties in Wharton State Forest, near the former Atco Dragway. Its cause remains under investigation.
Last summer, a wildfire in Wharton State Forest was the largest in New Jersey in 15 years. The blaze burned about 15,000 acres before it was fully contained.