'We're A Strong Town': Shop Owner Highlights Community Response Near Wildfire In South Jersey

NATIONAL PARK, NJ — The owner of a pizzeria located near Saturday's 160-acre wildfire watched tons of pride and care walk through his door as neighbors waited out the flames.

The fire was first reported Saturday morning in the 8th Street area of West Deptford. It was quickly contained with no injuries, officials said.

Picasso's Pizzeria, located at 825 Columbia Blvd, is just a few streets away from where emergency crews battled to keep 60 structures and the people of the community safe from the burgeoning flames.

"It was bad, you could see a lot of smoke that even had a yellow color to it," Picasso's owner, David Bermeo, told Patch.

Bermeo said his day was filled with a "sit-and-wait" but still working type of flow to it.

Streets that included nearby Red Bank Avenue were closed to incoming and outgoing traffic for hours as firefighters and plane crews battled the flames overhead.

The pizza shop, a staple of the National Park/West Deptford community for nearly 20 years, stayed open and welcomed whichever customers were able to get there on foot to gather and share a meal in hopes that nothing would turn for the worst.

"A lot of people have friends and family in the area," Bermeo added. "It's a small town, so everyone tries to watch each other's back."

The smoke was so bad that he and his staff were unable to tell where the fire was coming from at first, and were later told by a customer who could see it from his front porch.

Bermeo, who took over Picasso's five years ago, thanked the fire and forest officials for a tremendously fast response, and for helping to bring out the level of compassion he has come to know from his new home.

"We're a strong town here, we just have to keep moving forward," Bermeo said as he described the flow of customers that came in to check on one another throughout the day.

At least 60 structures, including many homes, were at risk on Saturday, forest fire service officials said.

Officials have yet to release information regarding what caused the wildfire.

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