No Homes Damaged, Brush Fire Extinguished In Brick

BRICK, NJ — A brush fire in the woods in the Baywood section of Brick that drew firefighters from nearby towns and the New Jersey Forest Fire Service was brought under control in about two hours Tuesday afternoon.

There were no reported injuries and no property damage from the fire, which was reported about 1 p.m., Brick Township police said.

The fire consumed about 10 acres of woods, said Caryn Shinske, spokeswoman for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

Some homes near the fire, in the area of Alameda Drive and East Coral Drive, were evacuated as a precaution, police said in an update later Tuesday afternoon.

Shinske said 10 homes were threatened by the blaze.

Smoke from the fire was visible for miles, with reports from Pine Beach and Lacey among commenters on the Ocean County Sheriff's Department's Facebook post about the fire.

The Herbertsville, Laurelton, Breton Woods, and Pioneer Hose fire companies all responded to extinguish the fire, and the NJ Forest Fire Service and the Point Pleasant Boro, Point Pleasant Beach, and Silverton Fire Departments all provided mutual aid and helped control the fire, police said.

The fire was fought from the air as well as from the ground. The New Jersey Forest Fire Service used a helicopter and a low-flying plane to drop water on the fire to knock it down.

Drum Point Sports Complex was used as a landing site, and Robert A. Miller Airpark in Berkeley Township was used as well, according to radio transmissions. It was contained by about 3:15 p.m.

"Chief David Forrester would like to commend and thank all of the responders; brush fires are extremely challenging and unpredictable," Brick police said in their update.

Shinske said the cause of the fire is under investigation.