New Jersey wildfire consumes 175 acres, evacuating homes

At least six homes were evacuated after a major wildfire tore through a township in Ocean City, New Jersey, on Wednesday.

The fire broke out in Jackson Township around midday, at which time officials cautioned that it was an uncontained, multi-acre fire whose cause was under investigation.

By the evening, the wildfire had spread to 175 acres, with 20% containment.

An additional 25 structures remained at risk late Wednesday, according to officials, who had dubbed the flames, Shotgun Wildfire.

The New Jersey Forest Fire Service was on the scene with fire engines, bulldozers and ground crews. It also assigned a helicopter for observation.

"When conditions become this dry, the simplest things can start a wildfire," said Bill Donnelly, chief of the Forest Fire Service, in a social media post on Tuesday. "In my 30-year career with the Forest Fire Service, I can't recall a time when we faced such a prolonged period of dry weather with no relief in sight."

The same post, one day before the wildfire broke out in Ocean County, stated that the Forest Fire Service had already responded to 507 incidents statewide throughout October and urged "caution during prolonged dry conditions throughout the Garden State."

Crews were conducting a "backfiring operation" as of Wednesday afternoon, which the Forest Fire Service described as "strategically burning fuel in the fire's path to slow its advance and assist with containment efforts."

According to New Jersey's Department of Environmental Protection, an average of 1,500 wildfires damage or destroy 7,000 acres of the state's forests each year.

The next update on the Shotgun Wildfire is expected to come from the New Jersey Forest Fire Service on Thursday morning.

Victoria Arancio contributed to this report.