Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette and Ocean Township Chief of Police Michal Rogalski announced that on April 23, 2025, Joseph Kling, 19, of Ocean Township (Waretown), was charged with Aggravated Arson and Arson in connection with a wildfire that started in Waretown on April 22, 2025, and continued to spread throughout the southern Ocean County area.
On April 22, 2025, at approximately 9:45 a.m., the Cedar Bridge Fire Tower located a column of smoke coming from the area of Jones Road and Bryant Road in Ocean Township. Upon arrival, emergency personnel observed a fire within the Ocean County Natural Lands Trust’s Forked River Mountains Wilderness Area, which is on the east side of Jones Road.
As of April 24, 2025, the fire has burned approximately 15,000 acres in Waretown and Lacey Townships, and has destroyed a commercial building.
A thorough and extensive investigation conducted by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit-Arson Squad, New Jersey Forest Fire Service, Ocean County Fire Marshal’s Office, and New Jersey State Fire Marshal’s Office, plotted the origin of the fire via Global Positioning System (GPS). The cause of the fire was determined to be incendiary by an improperly extinguished bonfire.
Further investigation has revealed that Kling was the individual responsible for setting wooden pallets on fire – and then leaving the area without the fire being fully extinguished. Kling was taken into custody at Ocean Township (Waretown) Police Headquarters; he was thereafter transported to the Ocean County Jail, where he is presently lodged pending a detention hearing.
Prosecutor Billhimer, Commissioner LaTourette and Chief Rogalski acknowledge the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit-Arson Squad, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, New Jersey Forest Fire Service, Ocean Township (Waretown) Police Department Detective Bureau, Lacey Township Police Department Detective Bureau, Ship Bottom Police Department, New Jersey State Fire Marshal’s Office, Ocean County Fire Marshal’s Office, and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, for their combined and cooperative efforts in connection with this investigation.
The charges referenced above are merely accusations and the press and public are reminded that all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
R.P.C. 3.6(b)(6).