After recovering from a severe beating at the hands of last fall’s Superstorm Sandy, the boardwalk area in Seaside Park and Seaside Heights, N.J. caught on fire during the afternoon hours of Sept. 12. As of this writing, the fire still rages; and there are reports of explosions in the area.
The blaze, which began just before noon at Kohr's Ice Cream near the boardwalk, was swept up by a strong southeast wind and jumped to adjacent structures around 2:30 p.m., according to Seaside Heights Police Chief Thomas Boyd. ~ nj.com
USA Today reported that after starting at the ice cream shop in Seaside Park, “the fire spread to other boardwalk businesses, including FunTown Pier, has now reached Seaside Heights.”
Officials still aren’t certain how the fire started.
Firefighters from Seaside are utilizing heavy equipment to remove sections of the new boardwalk to create a fire break, and hopefully keep the fire from ruining the new sections replaced following Superstorm Sandy’s devastation.
Firefighters are also hosing down sections of boardwalk and buildings near the blaze to prevent the fire from spreading.
The borough administrator for Seaside Heights, John Camera, said:
"As it continues to burn the boardwalk and out buildings, it is very, very hard to stop. There is so much wood structure up there.".
"Right now we can't say much other than they are doing their best to contain an out-of-control fire."
Today at 4:30 p.m., firefighters were ordered to pull back due to the sheer intensity of the fire.
Strong winds in the area are helping fan the flames. Twenty buildings have now been engulfed in the massive fire.
N.J. Governor Chris Christie has arrived on the scene.
You can catch a live feed of the fire in Seaside Heights, here.
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