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.
Joseph Kling, 19, was charged with arson in connection with the New Jersey wildfire.
Damage from the fire in Trenton on April 24, 2025. Getty Images
Smoke from the wildfire in Forked River on April 24, 2025. Photo by Adam Gray/Getty Images
A warehouse in Forked River that was destroyed in the fire. APHe 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.
Kling appeared for an initial via video conference in a prison jumpsuit. Ocean county court
The state filed a motion to keep Kling locked up before his trial. Ocean county court
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.
Here is the latest on the New Jersey wildfire
- 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
Smoke fills the sky from a wildfire in Lacey Townships, NJ, on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. AP
A helicopter fighting the wildfire near the Garden State Parkway’s Waretown toll plaza on April 23, 2025. Elizabeth Robertson /The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP
Burned trees from the wildfire in Forked River on April 24, 2025. Photo by Adam Gray/Getty ImagesA 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.
As of Friday, the wildfire is 80% contained with 12 structures threatened, according to 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.
