Brush fire sweeps across Gull Island in Point Pleasant Beach, drawing the Coast Guard

POINT PLEASANT BEACH - Flames swept across Gull Island Wednesday afternoon as firefighters from the borough and Manasquan battled the brush fire with the Coast Guard, State Police and the state forest fire service assisting, an official said.

The fire, reported shortly after 12:30 p.m., appears to have started in the southeastern part of the island situated in the Manasquan River, said Point Pleasant Beach Mayor Paul Kanitra.

Kanitra was observing the effort to fight the blaze from the northern part of the borough on the riverfront. The fire moved quickly, fueled by dry, low-lying brush that makes up most of the plant life on the island, he said.

“It was a rolling fire,” he said. “The smoke was quite significant.”

Flames rose as high as some of the few trees on the island, Kanitra said.

Firefighters battle a brush fire on Gull Island in Point Pleasant Beach on Jan. 26, 2022.
Firefighters battle a brush fire on Gull Island in Point Pleasant Beach on Jan. 26, 2022.

Ash was falling on the area where Kanitra was standing, on the tail end of St. Louis Avenue by Point Lobster.

Gull Island is an uninhabited conservation area and county park. The NJ Transit North Jersey Coast Line train tracks skirt the western edge of the island. They were safely out of harm’s way, Kanitra said.

An NJ Transit spokeswoman said service was not affected.

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By 2:30 p.m. the fire was under control, with firefighters still putting out small pockets of flames, said borough Fire Marshall Brian Martin.

It was unclear how the fire started, he said.

“As far as we know, no one was on the island,” Martin said.

The Coast Guard had two boats at the scene that were ferrying firefighters and equipment back and forth, he said.

Staff from the New Jersey Forest Fire Service were on hand to assist in the investigation, he said. The New Jersey State Police Marine Unit was on the scene earlier.

Ken Serrano covers crime, breaking news, investigations and local issues. Reach him at 732-643-4029 or kserrano@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Point Pleasant Beach NJ: Fire on Gull Island draws Coast Guard