FIRE UPDATE: Jersey City Gives Update On Brush Fire And Road Closures

JERSEY CITY, NJ — The city of Jersey City gave an update Wednesday morning on the previous day's 7-alarm fire.

The city said:

Here's an update on the Caven Point fire:

• The fire is under control. JCFD remains on scene putting out any potential hotspots.
• The recycling company came in last night with bulldozers, which are being used to move the paper around for firefighters to get water on it.
• Garfield Ave at Caven Point is closed. Traffic is being diverted northbound starting at Myrtle Ave and southbound starting at Claremont Ave. BUSINESSES IN THAT AREA ARE STILL ACCESSIBLE.
• Initially, there were some accessibility issues, but that was rectified once firefighters could access the back gate.
• It appears the fire started at the recycling plant. From there, it extended north towards the Turnpike and Light Rail and as far down as the 14C plaza, adjacent to Liberty State Park.
• We are grateful to have had mutual aid from Bayonne, Kearny, Harrison, Newark, and several units from Bergen County were used to backfill at firehouses where needed.
• The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Firefighters were still tending to " hotspots" Wednesday morning from what was a seven-alarm brush fire near the Jersey City/Bayonne border, but NJ Turnpike exits were back open and the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail was running on schedule:

There were 20 minute delays near both the Holland and Lincoln Tunnels, but Turnpike exits were open.

However, a car crash on Route 139 in Jersey City had closed two lanes of the Turnpike in that area near the Holland Tunnel. Read more about that here.

Earlier reporting:

The fire closed all lanes of the New Jersey Turnpike near Exit 14B, authorities said. The exit is about four miles south of the Holland Tunnel, which had 20-minute delays during evening rush hour.

The fire also has shut four Bergen-Hudson Light Rail stops in Jersey City.

The brush fire began around 2 p.m. and spread across the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail lines, NJ.com reported, initially shutting down three light rail stops near Liberty State Park:

NJ Transit sent an update around 5 p.m.:

The paper recycling facility is located at 1 Caven Point in Jersey City.

Watch Jersey City Patch for updates on this and other local news.