10-Acre Brush Fire Under Control

A 10-acre brush fire in a heavily wooded area off Schoolhouse Road in Wall is largely contained as of 4 p.m., Glendola Fire Company Chief Mike Burr said.

Responding firefighters are setting small backfires to ensure the blaze does not rekindle, Burr said. The smoke, once thick and heavy, had thinned and firefighters not already in the woods were returning to their firehouses.

Roughly 30 firefighters are still in the woods as the responding companies seek to complete operations about 100 yards off Schoolhouse Road, just south of the Garden State Parkway.

The Oak Tree Lodge has been used as a staging area to battle the blaze, with firefighters from the Glendola Fire Company, Tinton Falls' Pine Brook Fire Company and the NJ Forest Service working to extinguish the fire. State responders account for about half of the workers on the ground, Burr said.

Schoolhouse Road was shut down in both directions at about 3:30 p.m., although Parkway traffic appears to be unaffected.

The blaze was reported around 2:30 p.m. by Albert Fritz, a volunteer firefighter from Neptune.

The privately owned property is frequently used by kids for recreational purposes, and firefighters on scene said the sound of firecrackers hidden in the woods could occasionally be heard as the fire rages.

Although the fire is some 300 feet from the road, ashes from the blaze had been falling on Schoolhouse Road.