Lacey Wildfire Fully Contained, But Roads Still Closed

LACEY, NJ — The wildfire near the site of a deadly plane crash in South Jersey over the weekend reached 831 acres and is fully contained as of Tuesday morning, state forest fire officials said.

No structures were threatened and no evacuations were reported in connection with the wildfire near Robert J. Miller Air Park, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service said. A total of 25 structures were at risk Monday.

“Thanks to the assistance of local volunteer fire companies providing structure protection there was no damage to any of the threatened structures,” state authorities said.

The single-engine Cirrus SR20, which left Monmouth Executive Airport in Wall, crashed at 10:18 p.m., a spokesperson from the National Transportation Safety Board told Patch.

Only the pilot was on board, officials said. Though the pilot’s identity has yet to be released, officials confirmed to Patch that the pilot was deceased.

Robert J. Miller Airpark, which is owned by Ocean County and is located in Berkeley Township, remains closed because of the fire and crash investigation, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

The fire area included property managed by Ocean County and the Greenwood Forest Wildlife Management Area, officials said.

While Dover Road is closed from Lacey Road to Pinewald Keswick Road and Mule Road is still closed from Lacey Road to Pinewald Keswick Road, local traffic is now permitted to travel Dover Road and Mule Road, forest fire officials said. The roads are excepted to fully reopen Tuesday evening.

“Forest Fire Service staff will remain on scene and continue to monitor control lines and address areas of concern until significant precipitation occurs to ensure public safety.,” officials said Monday night.

The Ocean County Sheriff’s Office warned locals to expect a “strong smell of smoke” east of the Garden State Parkway from Stafford to Lakewood as a result of the fire. These conditions are likely to remain until there is significant rain over the region.

Fire department activity has been reported as far north as Lakehurst, where fire crews were reportedly battling the blaze on Route 37 east of NJ 70 on Monday.

The Federal Aviation Administration and NTSB are still investigating the crash.