Investigators Say New Jersey Wildfire Deliberately Set

Investigators say a weekend brush fire that spread to 540 acres of woodlands in southern New Jersey was deliberately set.

Capt. Tom Hays, spokesman for the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, said Wednesday that the fire was caused by an open flame applied to what arson investigators called a “jackpot of fuel.”

In this case, the fuel was dead leaves on the ground in the pine woods.

The fire was reported shortly after noon Saturday in Barnegat Township, about 25 miles north of Atlantic City. It was extinguished by Sunday night.

About 60 people were briefly evacuated from their homes. There were no injuries.