19-year-old Joseph Kling appears in court, charged with arson for allegedly sparking massive NJ wildfire
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.
He appeared for an initial hearing Thursday afternoon via video conference, looking disheveled and wearing a green prison jumpsuit.
The judge said the state filed a motion to keep him locked up ahead of his trial, and that the detention hearing has been scheduled for April 29, when a superior court judge will determine if he should be released or remain behind bars.
Neither the Ocean County prosecutor nor Kling's public defender, Giana Testa, had any questions for the judge, but Kling asked if the date of his next hearing fell on a Tuesday and what time it would be held.
The judge told him such proceedings usually kick off at 9 a.m., and Kling said 'thank you, have a good day,' before walking off camera.
Air quality warning issued for NYC and Long Island as wildfire in NJ spreads to more than 13K acres
Massive NJ wildfire that forced thousands to flee inferno could be state's largest in decades
Evacuation orders lifted after fast-moving NJ wildfire shuts down major highway, prompts thousands to leave
NJ wildfire prompts evacuation orders for thousands as blaze explodes in size, closes part of Garden State Parkway
19-year-old Joseph Kling appears in court, charged with arson for allegedly sparking massive NJ wildfire
A column of smoke was first spotted from the Cedar Bridge Fire Tower in Barnegat Township around 9:45 a.m. Tuesday, officials said.
The fire quickly spread out of control, forcing the evacuation of 5,000 residents of Ocean and Lacey townships.
As of Thursday morning, the fire had scorched roughly 15,000 acres (23 square miles, or slightly larger than Manhattan Island) and destroyed at least one commercial building.
The wildfire is currently 50% contained with 12 structures threatened, according to the latest update from the New Jersey Forest Fire Service.
No injuries have been reported, and all evacuation orders have been lifted.
The massive blaze, one of the largest wildfires in the Garden State in decades, prompted an air quality advisory in New York City, Long Island, and Westchester and Rockland counties through Thursday.
Officials estimate the fire might not be completely extinguished until at least Saturday.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Washington Post
20 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Tennessee prison riot contained after several hours; 3 inmates and 1 guard injured
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Inmates at a Tennessee prison sought to destroy property, compromised security cameras and set a few fires during a riot that took several hours to contain and caused minor injuries to three inmates and one guard, the facility's private operator said. On Sunday evening, a large group of inmates at Trousdale Turner Correctional Center from several housing units left their cells and accessed an inner yard, becoming 'disruptive and confrontational' and refusing to follow the staff's directions, according to CoreCivic spokesperson Ryan Gustin. The prison in Hartsville, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) northeast of Nashville, is the subject of an ongoing U.S. Department of Justice investigation .
Washington Post
20 minutes ago
- Washington Post
D.C. youth, 16, ordered confined until age 21 in killing of disc jockey
With tears streaming down their faces, nearly a dozen family members and friends of Bryan Smith stood before a D.C. Superior Court judge Monday and asked the same question: How could a teenager with multiple arrests for violent crimes, including assault and robbery, still be out on the streets. Prosecutors said the teen was only 15 when he and a 17-year-old companion, both from Northeast Washington, robbed and struck the 39-year-old Smith from behind so severely that he was left with severe brain damage and broken eye sockets. The attack occurred around 5 a.m. on Oct. 28 in the 500 block of T Street NW as Smith was returning home from a disc jockeying job. Smith lingered in a coma for two weeks before his mother removed him from life support in a Virginia hospital.
Fox News
23 minutes ago
- Fox News
Dozens of anti-ICE rioters arrested in LA as Trump sends in National Guard to quell violence
Dozens of protesters have been arrested following a weekend of violence across Los Angeles as tensions hit a boiling point over immigration raids throughout the city. On Sunday, law enforcement officials from multiple agencies arrested 41 protesters as anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) demonstrations spiraled out of control. Of the nearly four-dozen arrests, 21 were made by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), 19 by California Highway Patrol and one by the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department. The charges include failure to disperse, assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer, looting and arson, an LAPD spokesperson told Fox News Digital. Of the most violent alleged offenses, one individual was arrested for attempted murder with a Molotov cocktail, Fox News Digital has learned. On Saturday, the LAPD arrested 10 individuals for failing to disperse. The agency did not make any arrests Friday, according to officials. The California Highway Patrol and Los Angeles Sheriff's Department did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. The arrests come as the sanctuary city is bracing for the possibility of more violence as anti-ICE protesters clash with local, state and federal law enforcement. The protests kicked off on Friday after federal agents swept through the city's garment district in search of undocumented immigrants, sparking outrage throughout the community. In response to the unrest, President Donald Trump deployed 2,000 California National Guard troops to the area, with 300 troops arriving over the weekend. "We made a great decision in sending the National Guard to deal with the violent, instigated riots in California," Trump wrote on Truth Social Monday morning. "If we had not done so, Los Angeles would have been completely obliterated." Tensions escalated on the third day of protests as agitators moved throughout the city, setting self-driving cars on fire and blocking off major highways. National Guard troops took to the streets Sunday morning to guard the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles. As the protesters approached the guard members, additional uniformed officers began shooting smoke-filled canisters into the street. The LAPD began firing off rounds of crowd-control munitions in an effort to disperse the protesters, who then advanced onto the 101 Freeway and proceeded to block traffic until state police cleared the roadway by late afternoon. Additionally, demonstrators set at least four self-driving electric vehicles on fire, resulting in large explosions being heard throughout the chaos along with intermittent flash bangs going off periodically. By Sunday night, local police had issued an unlawful assembly order, effectively shutting down the area throughout downtown Los Angeles. "Demonstrators have marched to the LA Live area and are blocking all lanes of traffic on Figueroa and 11th St," the LAPD posted to X. "An UNLAWFUL ASSEMBLY has been declared for the Downtown Los Angeles area. You are to leave the area immediately." Trump's move to send in the U.S. military has drawn criticism from local and national politicians, with Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom renouncing the move while vowing to sue the administration. "This is about authoritarian tendencies," Newsom said in a statement. "This is about command and control. This is about power. This is about ego. This is a consistent pattern. This guy has abandoned the core principles of this great democracy. He's threatening to go after judges he disagrees with, cut off funding to institutions of higher learning, he's rewriting history and censoring historical facts." Newsom arrived in Los Angeles on Sunday evening to meet with state officials and oversee the response to the anti-ICE demonstrations. ICE said in a Saturday post on X that the agency had arrested 118 illegal immigrants throughout Los Angeles, including five alleged gang members. "Why do Governor Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass care more about violent murderers and sex offenders than they do about protecting their own citizens?" Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for Homeland Security's public affairs, said in a statement. "These rioters in Los Angeles are fighting to keep rapists, murderers, and other violent criminals loose on Los Angeles streets. Instead of rioting, they should be thanking ICE officers every single day who wake up and make our communities safer." Representatives for Bass' administration did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
